Top 10 Best Places To Visit In Brazil | Travel Guide

From tranquil beaches to vibrant cities to lush rainforests, Brazil spans a huge variety of landscapes. If you're not already captivated by its scenery and biodiversity, you'll be hooked by the culture with world-class art museums and the pulsing rhythms of Rio's carnival. Brazil's 7,400-kilometer Atlantic coast is lined with golden sand beaches. You'll find colonial towns, red rock canyons, and awe-inspiring waterfalls and jungles that will make you wish you could stay forever. So here are the best places to visit in Brazil. 1. Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro is the second major city in Brazil and was its capital from 1763 to 1960 when Brasilia was created. The city was founded by Portuguese colonists in the mid-1500s and became the port for the shipment of gold from the inland mining areas. From the world-famous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema to the magnificent summit of Corcovado, topped with the legendary wonder of the world Christ the Redeemer, Rio combines big natural attractions with a sprawling metropolis. Rio de Janeiro's best-known landmark is the rock peak of Sugarloaf towering 394 meters above the harbor. It sits on a point of land that projects out into the bay and wraps around its harbor and is connected to the city by a low strip of land. For a moment of calm, head to the city's botanical gardens. This place is home to over 8,000 plant species, designed in 1808 by order of the Prince Regent Dom João. Highlights include a lake filled with enormous Vitoria regia water lilies, an enclosed area with over 600 species of orchids, and a carnivorous greenhouse filled with venus flytraps and pitcher plants. Tijuca National Park protects the Tijuca forest and several viewpoints overlooking the city and surrounds Cristo Redentor, the giant-sized statue of Christ on Corcovado. The 8,100 acres Tijuca forest is one of the world's largest forests within a city and was planted in the late 1850s on land that had been destroyed by coffee plantations to safeguard the springs that supplied Rio de Janeiro's water. Moving on to number two, Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and is a bit of a melting pot with all kinds of ethnic groups calling it home. You'll find unbelievable art galleries and experimental theaters, as well as fantastic fine dining restaurants and upscale bars. The Sao Paulo Museum of Art only opened in 1968 but has the most representative and comprehensive collection of western art in Latin America. You'll see works by impressionists and modern masters such as Renoir, Van Gogh, Matisse, Manet, Picasso, and Moreau, along with 73 works of bronze sculptures by de Gasolone. One of my favorite places Ibirapura Park was laid out by landscape architect Roberto Burl Marx with buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer. The immense green space with its monuments, museums, playgrounds, gardens, trails, lakes, and performance spaces is a showcase of modern architecture and culture. The park is immensely popular, with over 14 million people visiting each year. Number three, Brasilia. Brasilia, which succeeded Rio de Janeiro as Brazil's capital in 1960, was built in less than three years. Brasilia's governmental center combines some of its most striking landmark buildings and monuments into a stunning showcase of modern architecture. The city's most famous landmark is the unique circular cathedral designed by Niemeyer and completed in 1970. Its 16 curved concrete columns soar upward to create a crown that surrounds a glass roof. The natural lighting effect inside is spectacular. On the east side of the city, the Rio Paranoa has been dammed to form a large lake, the Lago do Paranoa. Along its shore are embassies and consulates, sports clubs, restaurants, the university, the Olympic Center, and the Palácio da Alvarada, the official residence of the President of the Republic. Brasilia National Park covers 70,000 acres in the northwest part of the city protecting a number of different environments, including the low and crooked trees of the Cerrado, the bush steppe of the Brazilian interior, expanses of scrub and grassland, swampy palm-scattered plain, and the imposing trees of the gallery forests found on riverbanks and lake shores. 4. Iguazu Falls This stunning natural wonder runs for 2.7 kilometers along the border with Argentina and Paraguay. The combination of luscious green forest, exotic wildlife, and breathtaking waterfalls is intoxicating. Some of the falls are more than 100 meters high and they cover such a broad area that you'll never see all of them at once. Catwalks and a tower give you different perspectives and one bridge reaches all the way to one of the largest, known as the Garganta do Diabo or Devil's Throat. The falls are protected by the UNESCO-acclaimed Iguazu National Park where subtropical rainforests are home to more than 1,000 species of birds and mammals, including deer, otters, ocelots, and capybaras. 5. Auro Preto Located just outside Belo Horizonte and a colonial town in Minas Gerais, the old capital Auro Preto is known for its baroque facades, intricately designed churches, and winding cobbled streets. Its incredible architecture turned Auro Preto into Brazil's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its picturesque streets are filled with hidden gems and attractions to explore. The wealth of Brazil's colonial period is easy to imagine from the interiors of the churches. Entire walls are washed in gold that float along with diamonds from the mines surrounding the city in the 17th and 18th centuries. Now, before you plan your next trip to Brazil, make sure to check out the first link in the description where you can find the best deals for your flight, hotel, and car rentals in Brazil. 6. Fortaleza Another of Brazil's big cities is Fortaleza. With approximately 16 miles of coastline, it's best known for its great beaches, an energetic cultural scene, and even greater shopping. If you're going for the beaches, check out Mairles, Mucuripe, Iracema, and everyone's favorite, Praia do Futuro. You can spend your morning strolling through Centro, the oldest part of the city, and then spending your evenings in Praia da Iracema, a neighborhood densely packed with hotels, restaurants, and nightlife. While Fortaleza is known for its fabulous beaches, you shouldn't overlook the Parque Ecológico do Coco, one of the largest in South America with 2,855 acres. The park was created in 1989 to raise awareness and preserve the local area, including an enormous mangrove swamp. 7. Parade Along Brazil's green coast in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Parade is bursting with waterfalls, emerald green sea, giant coastal mountains, and tropical forests. Once a Portuguese colony, the heart of the town is still the historic center, complete with multicolored colonial buildings and cobbled streets built in the 17th century during the height of the Brazilian Gold Rush. Saco do Mamangua is one of Parade's most remarkable natural wonders. It's like a fjord with a corridor of sea that runs between a series of stunning green peaks. There are also beautiful beaches, mangroves, and spellbinding hikes in the surrounding area. Don't forget to also check out the colonial forts. Many still have their original cannons, and Capela de Santa Rita, a lovely 18th century church. 8. Recife Recife is often called the Venice of Brazil. Inside the city is a network of waterways, bridges, islets and peninsulas, and just outside are tropical rainforests with rivers and islands to explore. There is also a wonderful historic old town as well as incredible culture and fantastic beaches. The old town is known as Recife Antigo and is located on its own island near the harbor. Most would agree that Boa Viagem is the most popular beach in town due to the white sands and coral reef. Recife is a large city with lots to offer, including an awesome place to spend carnival. A sister city just a short drive from Recife, colorful Olinda is famous for its pastel colored houses and quaint colonial churches. Culture vultures will adore this open-air living museum, especially considering the entire historical center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Although clearly not as quaint as neighboring Olinda, Recife's old town is jam-packed full of imposing architecture and colorful markets. Highlights include Praça da República, Teatro Santa Isabel, Catedral de São Pedro dos Clérigos and Mercado do São José. Number 9. Manaus Manaus sits on the Negro River and is considered by many as the gateway to the Amazon rainforest. The capital of the Amazonas and one of the largest cities in the country has incredible landmarks like the Rio Negro Palace and the Amazonas Opera House. The city's most famous building is the Italian Renaissance-style Opera House opened in 1896 and now protected as a national monument. In an effort to make Manaus the great center of civilization, no expense was spared to create this cultural palace in the heart of the primeval forest. In the Rio Negro between Manaus and Novo Aerio there is an archipelago of 400 islands and islets with hundreds of lakes, watercourses and agapos or flooded forests extending for some 90 kilometers. The Anavilhana's nature reserve is an area of 865,000 acres that offers a complete cross-section of the Amazonian ecosystem. Number 10. Sao Luís Often referred to as the Lisbon of South America, Sao Luís is the capital of the state of Maranho and is one of the largest cities in the northeast of Brazil. With its UNESCO World Heritage Site declared Historic Center, it maintains a largely Afro-Brazilian culture and you'll find both Reggae and Bamba Meu Boi music festivals here. While you are there make sure to also visit the Archaeological Museum and the Casa das Tolas, a 19th century market building. And when you're ready, cross the Baía de São Marcos for a quick day trip to Alcântara to see this historic town as it slowly slips into tropical decay. Lenco's Maranenses is the biggest landmark in the state of Maranho, declared a national park in 1981. This place is unique. It is a kind of coastal desert which covers a 70 kilometers long section between the city of Sao Luís and the border of the state of Piauí. The park covers an area of 1550 square kilometers and in some parts the width of this sandy desert exceeds 25 kilometers. The landscape is extremely easily recognizable as it is dominated by huge golden white sand dunes, diversified with thousands of lagoons full of crystal clear fresh water.