The Historical Towns of Minas Gerais

With Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo as its neighbours, it is all too easy to overlook the state of Minas Gerais.

The state capital, Belo Horizonte, is a vibrant and modern city with a good selection of bars and restaurants, especially in the Savassi and Funcionários districts. Rua da Bahia, in the city centre, is another good place to enjoy an evening out.

Belô, as it is often called by locals, is the third-biggest conurbation in the Brazilian southeast, and, with a metropolitan population of 5.6 million, Brazil’s third-largest city. Laid out in a grid system, the centre of Belo is fairly easy to get around on foot or by public transport. A "planned" city, the area known as Pampulha is often credited with being the early blueprint for the Brazilian capital, Brasília.

The driving force for the development of Pampulha in the 1940s was the city’s then-mayor, Juscelino Kubitschek. In 1956 he would be sworn in as the country’s president, a president who made the building of Brasília an absolute priority.

Many of the architects and landscapers used by Kubitschek on Pampulha, would go on to work on Brasília, most notably Oscar Niemeyer and Burle Marx. Pampulha, and Belo, in general, is home to many outstanding examples of Niemeyer’s architectural genius.

Pampulha is also home to the Mineirão, one of Brazil’s largest football stadiums, where Belo hosted group games during the 1950 World Cup, most famously England’s 1-0 defeat to the US that effectively knocked them out of the cup.

Belo Horizonte is also one of the gateways to the real treasures of Minas Gerais, the historic and colonial towns that sprung up in the 17 century after the discovery of gold and precious stones in the region.

Many of the towns have changed little architecturally since being first built, and several are considered by UNESCO to be World Heritage Sites. Towns such as Ouro Preto, Congonhas, Diamantina, Mariana, Tiradentes and São João del Rei.

For any traveller with an interest in history or architecture, the historic towns of Minas are a ’must’ place to visit, especially if visiting neighbouring Rio de Janeiro. There are numerous daily flights from both São Paulo and Rio to Belo Horizonte, and the historic towns are just a comfortable drive from Rio away. One of the nearest towns, São João del Rei, is over 200 miles (337 kilometres) away, but accommodation in the historic towns is, as you might expect, mainly in picturesque, historical pousadas, inns and lodges.