Brazil: Minas Gerais’s Spectacular Art and History Tour
This 7-day itinerary is a wonderful off-the-beaten-path exploration of Minas Gerais state in Central Brazil, featuring the regions intriguing history, culture, art and cuisine. Begin your tour in Belo Horizonte, the state’s capital, cultural and economic metropolis. With its orderly urban grid and tree-lined avenues, Brazil’s 6th largest city / 3rd largest urban area is pleasant to explore and is an excellent jumping off point further into Minas Gerais to the beautiful colonial towns of Ouro Preto and Mariana. Lying at the center of Minas Gerais state, Belo Horizonte is intended to bring together the various parts of this diverse state, well-known for its hearty cuisine and friendly hospitality.
During this art and history focused tour, visit some of renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s most famous buildings, the Inhotim Art Complex. The Inhotim is home to one of the largest foundations of contemporary art in Brazil and one of the largest outdoor art centers in Latin America. It was founded by the former mining magnate Bernardo Paz in 2004 to house his personal art collection but opened to the public a couple of years later. In 2014, the open-air museum was one of TripAdvisor’s top 25 best-ranked museums in the world. The Inhotim lies in part of the Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural, which makes it a natural heritage site. These geographic features made it possible for Inhotim to house a botanical garden, which has been developing since it was opened.
Enjoy a local’s experience in the town of Ouro Preto, one of Brazil’s best-preserved colonial towns and the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated in 1980. Ouro Preto, meaning “black gold”, was founded in 1698 and quickly became the epicenter of a new gold rush. By 1750, the city’s population had swelled to over 110,000, making it one of the largest cities in the Americas. The gold eventually ran dry, but the city’s outstanding architecture remained, including its churches, which are special not only for their architecture but also for the carved sculptures by Aleijadinho, one of Brazil’s most celebrated artists. Also, visit Mariana which was the first capital city of Minas Gerais and became the seat of the first bishopric in the state and hence, an important religious center for the region.
Highlights
- Explore Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais State, including the Central Market, an indoor food and craft market and the neighborhood of Pampulha, which includes buildings designed by Brazil’s most famous architect, Oscar Niemeyer.
- Visit Inhotim Art Complex, with its numerous art pavilions and botanical gardens.
- Spend 4 nights in the historical and quaint city of Ouro Preto with plenty of free time to explore and enjoy at your leisure.
- Visit the popular churches of Saint Francis and Our Lady of the Pilar, the Opera House (the oldest in South America), the Mineralogical Museum and the impressive Oratory Museum with its magnificent collection of sacred art.
- Take a day tour to the historical town of Mariana and visit an old Gold Mine.
- Destination
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Included
AccommodationsActivities as SpecifiedEnglish Speaking GuideGovernment taxesMeals as SpecifiedTransportation
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Not Included
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From our gallery
From roaring waterfalls to tranquil wetlands, the South American ecosystem lies before you, begging to be explored.
ARRIVAL / BELO HORIZONTE
- Arrive in Belo Horizonte at Tancredo Neves International Airport today. Met by your local guide and transfer to your hotel, which will take 45-minutes by private vehicle.
- Check-in to the hotel and hotel and have a rest.
- Take a walking tour with your local guide of the neighborhood surrounding your hotel to familiarize yourself with the area.
- Return to your hotel and the remainder of the evening is free at your leisure.
BELO HORIZONTE
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Met by your local guide and set out for a half day city sightseeing tour of Belo Horizonte by private vehicle and on foot. Begin with a visit to the Central Market, an indoor food and craft market. Stroll past the stalls to see the fresh produce and learn about the culinary traditions of Minas Gerais.
- Afterwards, visit the neighborhood of Pampulha, which includes buildings designed by Brazil’s most famous architect, Oscar Niemeyer. The Pampulha complex was one of Niemeyer’s first projects, developed in 1940 when the architect was just 33 years old. Many consider it to be the first major example of architectural modernism in Brazil.
- The landscape around the complex is also quite impressive, whereby Niemeyer collaborated with landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. This was the first of several collaborations between the two pioneers of the modernist movement in Brazil.
- Return to your hotel in the early afternoon and the remainder of the day is free at your leisure.
BELO HORIZONTE / INHOTIM / OURO PRETO
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Met by your local guide and drive 90 minutes to Inhotim, an amazing outdoor contemporary art complex. Drawing art enthusiasts from around the world, it has various pavilions devoted to individual artists and botanical gardens of lush flora & fauna with thousands of species of native and exotic plants.
- Afterwards, drive 2 hours to the historical town of Ouro Preto, where you will spend the next 4 nights.
- Check-in to the hotel upon arrival and the evening is free at your leisure.
OURO PRETO
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Met by your local guide this morning and take a walking tour of the historical center of Ouro Preto. Ouro Preto was at the heart of Brazil’s gold rush that began in the 1690s and during that period, when it was known as Vila Rica, it was the most populous city in South America. While most of the gold was sent to Portugal, some of the region’s gold was used to decorate Ouro Preto’s ornate churches, which can be seen today.
- Today, Ouro Preto is a masterpiece of colonial Brazilian architecture and art. On this excursion, we’ll walk the cobblestone streets to see the interiors of the popular churches of Saint Francis and Our Lady of the Pilar, the Opera House (the oldest in South America), the Mineralogical Museum and the impressive Oratory Museum with its magnificent collection of sacred art.
- Return to your hotel in the late afternoon and the evening is free at your leisure.
OURO PRETO
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Met by your local guide this morning and take a 30-minute excursion to Mariana by private vehicle. Founded in 1696, for a short time the city was the capital of Minas Gerais. It maintains a distinctive 18th century aura as is reflected in its architecture, streets, monuments and leisurely pace of life.
- On the way back to Ouro Preto, stop at a gold mine to visit the underground areas in railcars, reaching 315 meters in length and 120 meters in depth. Learn about the history of the mine and experience a demonstration of how gold was retrieved.
- Return to Ouro Preto in the afternoon and the evening is free at your leisure.
OURO PRETO
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Enjoy the entire day free at your leisure to stroll the cobblestone streets and explore the city on your own.
OURO PRETO / BELO HORIZONTE / DEPARTURE
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Met by your local guide in the morning and drive for 1.5 hours back to Belo Horizonte International Airport for your departure flight.