Brazilian Real Exchange Rate
Exceptionally, this review covers not just one destination but several of them, in the vicinity of Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais. We are talking about the Cidades Históricas (Historical Cities). The best well-known are Ouro Preto (Unesco World Heritage Site, we have a blog post devoted to it: destination: Ouro Preto), Mariana, São João del Rei, Tiradentes, Congonhas and Sabará. The other jewel on the crown is Diamantina, far away from the others, which I will not cover here as I haven’t visited it yet.
WE LIKE THE MOST: the outstanding collection of colonial baroque art, the crafts, the food
WE LIKE THE LEAST: the alarming deterioration of the artistic heritage with the utter connivance of the authorities. Unesco have repeteadly expressed their concern with the state of Ouro Preto
HOW TO GET THERE: The Cidades Históricas can only be reached by road. You will need to you use a rented car, the public transport system, or embark on a one-day trip from Belo Horizonte.
CAREFUL WITH: it gets very cold on the mountain region during the Brazilian winter; the “comida mineira” (food from the region), as delicious as it is caloric; the notorious roads in the region, with one of the hightest accident rates for the whole of Brazil
FAVOURITE PLACES: Congonhas, the church of Nossa Senhora de Ó in Sabará, the steam train between Tiradentes and São João del Rei, Tiradentes, Mariana
PIECE OF ADVICE:
- there is plenty to see in Ouro Preto, you will easily fill a day visiting the town; Mariana is nearby, a couple of hours to visit the village will be enough
- São João del Rei and Tiradentes can be visited on the same trip, there is a steam train linking both places
LINKS: Associação das Cidades Históricas de Minas Gerais, Cidades Históricas de Minas, Ouro Preto, São João del Rei, Tiradentes, Conheça Minas pela Internet
WEATHER FORECAST: The weather in Ouro Preto for the next 10 days
GOOGLE MAPS: Cidades Históricas
PHOTOS: Cidades Históricas
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RELATED POSTS:
destination: Ouro Preto
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Hi!
You got a very nice blog, but just only one recomendation: you could speak more specific places.
Thank you so much.
Thanks there. To be honest, I didn’t quite get what you meant by “more specific places”. This blog is mostly about “specific places”!
I agree that there is not enough information here about the individual cities. For instance, all you say about São João del Rei and Tiradentes is that there is a steam train between them. How about some links to supplant the information?
Adrian, I really wish I could give away the contents of a full guidebook for free. But I’m afraid I can’t. However, I find your assessment quite unfair, if you read the entry you would see I have indeed given links on the text both to pages on São João del Rei and on Tiradentes. I do not mind founded criticism. But I expect fairness in return.
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