Rio de Janeiro · Brazil
In the destination Rio de Janeiro Mountain Region (Serra Verde Imperial).
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
The city
Petrópolis is a mountain town shaped by imperial history and the Atlantic Forest. Walks through the historic center can be combined with cultural visits and outings in the mountains.
14 places to stay in Petrópolis.
7 places picked to eat.
how to get there · how many days · itinerary · questions
The local experience
Housed in Dom Pedro II's former summer palace, it holds hundreds of thousands of items from the imperial period, including the emperor's crown. Visitors walk through the halls in felt slippers to protect the original floors.
A neo-Gothic cathedral about 70 meters tall, built over almost a century. It houses the Imperial Mausoleum, with the tombs of Dom Pedro II and Empress Teresa Cristina.
Discover Catedral de São Pedro de Alcântara
A cast-iron and glass pavilion assembled in 1884 for horticultural exhibitions, ordered from France and now used for cultural events. It is one of the city's most recognizable images.
A small summer house designed by the inventor himself in 1918, which he nicknamed A Encantada (The Enchanted One), full of eccentric touches such as the staircase with alternating steps. It holds personal belongings and an observatory on the terrace.
Discover Casa de Santos Dumont
Built in 1944 to be the largest casino in Latin America, it lost its purpose two years later, when gambling was banned in the country. Today it hosts exhibitions and events, and the lake in front is shaped like the map of Brazil.
The oldest brewery in Brazil, from 1853, turned into a beer museum in the factory's historic building. The tour covers the history and the brewing process and ends with a tasting.
A half-timbered house built by the first German immigrants around 1847 and opened as a museum in 1976. It tells the daily life of the settlers who built the city, before the imperial period it became known for.
A fourteen-meter monument with a statue of Our Lady of Fátima, on a hilltop a few minutes from downtown. It is worth it for the open view of the historic center and the surrounding mountains.
A clothing shopping street since 1916, known for knitwear sold at factory prices. There are hundreds of shops along a gentle slope, busy all year round.
More than forty thousand square meters of Atlantic Forest with a lake, pedal boats, a playground and a picnic area. It is the place for an afternoon with no plans, in the middle of the mountains.
A district about fifteen kilometers from downtown, home to many restaurants, shops and pousadas. It is usually the base for people looking for the more rural, quieter side of the mountains.
