Instituto de Arte Contemporânea Inhotim
Belo Horizonte
The world's largest open-air contemporary art museum, and greater Belo Horizonte's standout attraction, this sprawling, world-class complex of gardens…
Must-see attractions in Minas Gerais
Mineirão & Museu Brasileiro do Futebol
Belo Horizonte
An obligatory stop for football fans, Belo Horizonte's legendary 65,000-seat stadium was completely renovated for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, incorporating a…
Minas Gerais
If you've ever wondered how cachaça (Brazil's famous sugarcane alcohol) is made, this is a perfect place to learn. This small-scale alambique (distillery)…
Parque Estadual Serra do Intendente
Minas Gerais
This remote state park, 19km west of Conceição do Mato Dentro at the end of a rugged dirt road, preserves a 13,500-hectare chunk of backcountry within…
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil
Belo Horizonte
Inaugurated in late 2013, this magnificent palace on Praça da LIberdade is one of Belo Horizonte's cultural gems. The vast 3rd-floor gallery hosts special…
Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
Minas Gerais
This exquisite 1774 baroque church, fronted by a palm-shaded, lyre-shaped plaza, is home to two Aleijadinho sculptures (second altar to the left) and one…
Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
Minas Gerais
This exquisite church is Brazil's most important piece of colonial art, after Aleijadinho’s masterpiece The Prophets in Congonhas. Its entire exterior was…
Igreja Matriz de Santo Antônio
Minas Gerais
Named for Tiradentes' patron saint, this gorgeous church is one of Aleijadinho's last designs. The dazzling gold interior is rich in Old Testament…
Minas Gerais
A riot of gold, red and blue, the diminutive Igreja de NS do Ó is one of Minas’s little gems. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her role as protector of…
Belo Horizonte
Praça da Liberdade's standout cultural attraction, this supremely cool contemporary museum chronicles Minas culture from the 17th to 21st centuries via…
Minas Gerais
Already an old man, sick and crippled, Aleijadinho sculpted The Prophets between 1800 and 1805. Symmetrically placed in front of the Basílica do Bom Jesus…
Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó – Portaria Areias
Minas Gerais
The park's main entrance, south of Santana do Riacho, serves as the gateway to several hiking destinations. Two especially popular day trips are the 16km…
Minas Gerais
This innovative museum in Tiradentes' former town jail was conceived by Belo Horizonte–based Angela Gutierrez, creator of Ouro Prêto’s Museu do Oratório…
Minas Gerais
This 18th-century treasury building still retains its historic foundry, where gold was melted down and formed into bars under the watchful eye of the…
Estação Biológica de Caratinga
Minas Gerais
This seriously off-the-beaten-track nature reserve offers the exceptional opportunity to observe the Americas' largest primate and one of its most…
Minas Gerais
Connected by a vivid-blue 2nd-story passageway (built to obscure nuns from public view during the building's 102-year stint as an orphanage and school),…
Minas Gerais
Halfway between Ouro Preto and Mariana, this ancient gold mine was founded by the Portuguese in 1719 and definitively decommissioned in 1985. Guided tours…
Minas Gerais
The star attraction at Mariana's cathedral is its fantastic German organ dating from 1701, painted with designs from the then-Portuguese colony of Macau…
Minas Gerais
This historical museum is housed in Ouro Preto's old municipal headquarters and jail, an attractive building built between 1784 and 1854 on the southern…
Minas Gerais
Built between 1701 and 1704 and named after one of the original bandeirantes (roaming adventurers who spent the 17th and 18th centuries exploring Brazil’s…
Minas Gerais
Built by the army in 1835, this public market is a popular community gathering place on Friday evening, when vendors set up stalls selling typical mineiro…
Minas Gerais
The history of the Maria-Fumaça, one of Brazil's first rail lines, is on display at the Museu Ferroviário inside São João's train station. The museum's…
Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó – Portaria do Retiro
Minas Gerais
The northern entrance to the park, accessed via a 3km paved road from Santana do Riacho, is the trailhead for day hikes to several points of scenic…
Igreja de Santa Efigênia dos Pretos
Minas Gerais
Financed by gold from Chico-Rei’s mine and built by the slave community, this mid-18th-century church honors Santa Efigênia, princess of Nubia. The…
Minas Gerais
Adorned with rich, golden carvings and a gilded organ made in Diamantina, this is the town’s most opulent church. Constructed between 1760 and 1765, its…
Minas Gerais
Dedicated to 18th-century Brazilian priest and revolutionary hero Padre Toledo, this historical museum occupies the 18-room house where Padre Toledo…
Museu de Ciência e Técnica da Escola de Minas
Minas Gerais
In the old governor’s palace above Praça Tiradentes, this museum features dazzling gemstones from around the world. Even if you skip the museum itself, it…
Minas Gerais
Near Matriz NS da Conceição de Antônio Dias is the abandoned mine of Chico-Rei. There’s little to see as you stoop through the low passageways, but it’s…
Belo Horizonte
About 50km north of Belo Horizonte, this cave's highlight is the Véu de Noiva, a crystal formation in the shape of a bride’s veil. With your own vehicle,…
Minas Gerais
On the southwestern side of town, this is Brazil's second most opulent church (after Salvador’s São Francisco). It has 434kg of gold and silver and is one…
Minas Gerais
This museum features a fabulous collection of hand-carved oratórios – miniature home altars and portable devotional shrines dating back to the 17th…
Minas Gerais
Sticking out like a sore thumb amid the 18th-century streets of Congonhas, this striking modernist museum houses replicas of Aleijadinho's The Prophets,…
Minas Gerais
Mariana's loveliest church was designed by Aleijadinho, whose work can also be seen in the pulpits and other interior details. The gorgeous ceiling panels…
Belo Horizonte
This is the most interesting of the caves surrounding Belo Horizonte. Near Sete Lagoas, 70km north of Belo, it has prehistoric paintings and petroglyphs…
Igreja de NS do Rosário dos Pretos
Minas Gerais
Downhill from the center you'll find Diamantina's oldest church, built by black slaves in 1731. Don't miss the tree out front with a cross embedded in its…
Minas Gerais
Constructed in 1749 by the town council and set against a verdant backdrop, this gorgeous fountain north of Córrego Santo Antônio has three sections: one…
Minas Gerais
This beautiful stone church, with its many images of black saints, was built in 1708, by and for slaves. Since they had no free time during daylight hours…
Museu Histórico Abílio Barreto
Belo Horizonte
The centerpiece of this museum, southwest of Savassi, is a renovated colonial farmhouse, the solitary remnant of Curral del Rey, the rural village…
Minas Gerais
This is the most famous of several oratórios (glass-encased niches containing images of saints) built on street corners around town by early-18th-century…
Minas Gerais
Begun in 1721, São João's cathedral has exuberant gold altars and fine Portuguese tiles. Two of the city's famous orchestras can be heard here at the 7pm…
