Mariana is a small and quaint Cidade Histórica a few miles off Ouro Preto. It makes for a perfect half-day trip from the latter.

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1. HOW TO GET THERE:

By bus.

• from Belo Horizonte: bus company Pássaro Verde runs two daily direct buses to Mariana (at unearthly hours). Schedules and fares available at its website. The trip lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes.
• if you find yourself in Ouro Preto, take a local bus to Mariana.

By train. The Trem da Vale is a tourist train linking Ouro Preto and Mariana. You can check schedules and prices at its website. If you want to save some money, you can go to Mariana by train and return to Ouro Preto by bus.

By car. You can reach Mariana from Belo Horizonte, São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Extreme caution is required as roads in the state of Minas Gerais are notorious for its alarming accident rates.

By plane. There is no airport in Mariana. The nearest airports are Confins and Pampulha in Belo Horizonte.

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2. WHEN TO GO:

It rains quite a lot in Mariana from November to March. Between April and October rainfall is scarce. June, July and August can see the temperatures drop to 10 degrees at night, warm clothing is recommended.

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3. CAREFUL WITH:

Coolish temperatures in winter. Local food is as delicious as it is caloric.

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4. WE LIKE THE MOST:

The exceptional collection of baroque colonial architecture. The local food delicacies.

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5. WE LIKE THE LEAST:

Outside the historic centre Mariana is chaotic.

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6. FAVOURITE PLACES:

Minas Gerais square with the beautiful churches of São Francisco de Assis and Nossa Senhora do Carmo. The church of São Pedro dos Clérigos.

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7. PIECE OF ADVICE:

• half a day is enough to visit the most important churches in Mariana. You can walk or drive your car.
• the places mentioned under 6. are unmissable. From the Minas Gerais square, follow the street going up till you reach the church of São Pedro dos Clérigos.
• of a lesser interest is the Catedral Basílica da Sé ou de Nossa Senhora da Assunção.

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8. HEALTH:

No vaccines are needed for Mariana. The rural areas of Minas Gerais recorded recent cases of yellow fever. Though not essential nor required, take the shot if you want some peace of mind (10 facts about yellow fever in Brazil).

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9. LINKS:

Mariana.org is the official Mariana tourism page.

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10. WEATHER FORECAST:

The weather in Mariana for the next ten days

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11. CLIMATE:
Average temperatures and rainfall in Mariana.

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12. GOOGLE MAPS:
Mariana in Google Maps.

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13. PHOTO ALBUM:

Mariana photo album.

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RELATED POSTS:
Destination: Ouro Preto
Destination: Historical Cities, Minas Gerais
World Heritage Sites
Website on the Cultural World Heritage Sites in Brazil

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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 (we also have a blog post: destination: 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
destination: Mariana

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follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Facebook