Brazil the Gold Road

Pick up at the airport and transfer to the hotel.

Night at the Pestana São Paulo hotel (breakfast included).
Luxury room.
Included : transfer arrival, room & breakfast

Meet your English-speaking guide at 10:00am for a visit of town.

Many sites and museums can be visited, among which: Ibirapuera Park, the Japanese district, the cathedral, Páteo do Colegio, the São Bento convent, the Municipal theater, Terraço Italia, the Luz station, the museum of Sacred Art, a painting collection, Avenida Paulista, the Gardens, the governor’s palace, the Casa da Fazenda, the Foundation Oscar Americano, the Morumbi stadium, the museum do Ipiranga and the Institut Butanta.

Entry pass to museums and sites not included.

Return to the hotel around 06:00pm.

Private transport to the airport leaving 3 hours prior to departure. Flight from São Paulo (arrival airport, flight time and number to be confirmed).

Pick up at the airport and transfer to the hotel.

Night at the hotel Belo Horizonte Plaza (breaksfast included).
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, transfer departure, transfer arrival, reception with english-speaking guide, room & breakfast

Meet with your guide at 08:00am at the reception of the hotel. You'll then take the road to the south of Belo Horizontem near Brumadinho, to visit Inhotim. Founded in 2005, Inhotim is like "a site that produces knowledge and in which the environment and the art cohabit, making up the starting point for applying sociol-educative means to various fields." In various suburban houses located at the heart of a vast green park, you can enjoy a great collection of contemporary art (paintings, photographs, videos, installations...), as well as the impressive botanical garden (hundreds of different species, some of which are especially rare). Transfer to Ouro Preto at the end of the day.

Night at the Solar do Rosário hotel (breakfast included). Standard room.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, room & breakfast

In the morning, a short trip (6km) will take you to the mine of Passagem, halfway on the sinuous road between Ouro Preto and Mariana. Visit of this gigantic old gold mine, preserved nowadays like a testimony of the gold rush which made the area busy during the 18th century. A little cart will take you to a few hundred meters below the ground in the large caverns dug by slaves a few centuries ago.

Nearby, you can also visit an open pit Imperial Topaz mine where dozens of Brazilians are still trying, with hope as their only motivation. You will drive a few more kilometers to reach Mariana. First town established in the Minas Gerais area by the Portuguese after the discovery of the gold and diamond deposits, Mariana, unchanged since the conquistadors, is surrounded with mountains. Mariana will instantly charm you with its particular character, the paved streets, the churches and the peacefulness of its inhabitants.

Town visit: Arquidiocesano museum, churches of Do Carmo and of São Francisco and Cathedral da Sé where you can admire a German organ Arp Schnitger (Hamburg) from 1701. Offered in 1753 by the king of Portugal Dom José 1er for the creation of the diocese of Mariana, it constitutes the only existing model nowadays outside Europe. It is still in use twice a week, during baroque music concerts organized on Fridays at 11:00am and on Sundays at noon.

Return to Ouro Preto, around midday, to finish your visit of town.

Night at the Solar do Rosário hotel (breakfast included). Standard room.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, room & breakfast

With your English-speaking guide go to Congonhas with a private vehicle. There you will discover the statues of the twelve prophets, considered as the masterpiece of Aleijadinho. These sculptures decorate the parvis of the Bom jesus de Matosinhos Basilica and are dominating an esplanade with the six chapels dos Passos where are kept some scenes of the Passion of the Christ sculpted in cypress wood at real size.

Continue to one of the main auriferous city, São João del Rei. Visit of the church of São Francisco de Assis before going to Tiradentes, 20 minutes away from São João, which you will reach at the end of the day. This small city is certainly the most romantic visit of all the colonial cities of Minas Gerais. The easiest thing to do is to let yourself wander freely in the narrow and steep streets, from a shop to a church, a church to a garden, in a definitely baroque setting. The atmosphere is tropical due to the opulent fertile mata vegetation which can be found around town, at the base of the cliffs in Serra de Sao José. The "Matriz" church of Antônio de Tiradentes is one of the most beautiful piece of Brazilian baroque art.

Night at the pousada Mãe d'Agua.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, room & breakfast

Departure from Tiradentes at 09:00am, for a 280 km journey through a continental decor of rolling hills filled with history (about 3-hour drive). At almost 1000 meters above sea level, you will discover the favorite holiday destination of the Brazilian Imperial family: Petrópolis. The Imperial museum, the former summer palace, is the most visited site.

You will find there the Scepter and the Crown of the Emperor Don Pedro II, some historical documents (notably the original of the lei Aurea, the decree of abolition of slavery from 1888), jewelry and art pieces which belonged to the Imperial family. You will also visit many colonial mansions and Palaces (home of the baron of Mauá, of Santos Dumont, of princess Isabel, of Stefan Zweig, Amarelo palace, the Presidents Palace), museums, churches (cathedral of São Pedro de Alcântara) and finally the Cristal palace.

Night at the Casablanca Imperial hotel (breakfast included).
Luxury room.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, room & breakfast

Start at the time you wish. The road going from Rio down to Petropolis is well worth it. With bridges over wonderful valleys, it meanders between the mountains of the Serra dos Orgaos. It is a one hour journey to arrive to the cidade maravilhosa.

Night at the Royal Rio hotel (breakfast included). Standard room.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, room & breakfast

At 09:00am you will meet your English-speaking guide for a private visit of Rio’s city center, from a colossal avenue framed by imposing glass buildings to quaint, small streets and their little affordable shops.

Many styles, one spirit, is the best definition to describe the architectural cocktail of the center, where past and modernism coexist in harmony. Among the possible visits (to be coordinated with the guide depending on opening times, your centers of interest, or eventual manifestations organized that day): Imperial Municipal (replicate of the Opera Garnier in France), foundation Banco do Brasil, casa da França (old custom house), national History museum, largo da Carioca, convento Santo Antônio, metropolitan cathedral, plaza Tiradentes...

In the afternoon, a specialized guide will take you on an "off-the-beaten-track" visit: the favelas. This visit of a few hours in a different reality of Rio, will give you a more real and complete view of the life in Carioca than the images of violence poverty which usually shown by the medias lacking of originality.

At the heart of these popular and "lawless" suburbs (the favelas are originally illegal land occupations), Brazilians organize themselves and live in a dignified and solitary manner.

Return to the hotel at 05:00pm.

Note 1: Entrance fees in the city center not included.

Note 2: For the visit of the center, avoid Sundays and bank holidays.

Night at the Royal Rio hotel (breakfast included). Standard room.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, room & breakfast

At 09:00am start a city tour with your English-speaking guide, firstly going up to the Corcovado (el. 700 m.a.s.l.), worldly known symbol of Rio. Once up there, take the time to appreciate the unique and amazing panoramic view of the "cidade maravilhosa" (wonderful city).

Then way back down via Santa Teresa, which used to be one of the wealthiest residential neighborhoods of Rio, when the town was the capital of Brazil and all the principal institutions were located there. Surrounded by the agglomeration, the neighborhood has lost its former character, and the wealth of the area has moved to the Southwest of Rio, to Barra da Tijuca. Santa Teresa now shelters a diverse population in the bohemian quarter of the modern Rio. Walk through this area to get a taste of its quaint and old atmosphere. During the trip to Lapa, visit the colored stairs or "Escadaria do Convento da Santa Teresa", decorated by Jorge Selarón.

Later, take the cable cart to the summit of the Sugarloaf (el. 400 m.a.s.l.), another symbol of Rio which marks the entrance of the Guanabara Bay. Return to the hotel at 05:00pm.

Option: Helicopter flight of a few minutes from the mirador of Sugar Loaf (book on site).

Night at the Royal Rio hotel (breakfast included). Standard room.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, entrance fees, room & breakfast

Departure from the hotel for a journey to Paraty with your local driver in private car with air conditioning. 4 ½-hour drive on a sealed road along the Green Coast, a vegetation corridor between ocean and mountains.

Night at the pousada da Marquesa (breakfast included). Luxury room.
Included : private transport, room & breakfast

At 11:00am, departure with your guide to the mountainous hinterland of Paraty, in the National Park of Serra da Bocaina. This region can join only by a dirt track, which was until the 70s the only land route from Paraty to the world. Now abandoned in favor of the coastal road, this road takes you through the dense green landscape of the Atlantic Forest (the "Mata Atlantica").

Along the way, several stops will be provided to refresh and discover several waterfalls as Pedra Branca, Tarzan, and Toboga et Poco do Inglês. You will continue with a visit to an alembic of cachaça. Tasting cachaças and liqueurs accompany the tour. You finally take the famous Route de l'Or (Estrada Real). Back in the late afternoon in Paraty.

Night at the pousada da Marquesa (breakfast included). Luxury room.
Included : english speaking guide, private transport, room & breakfast

At 09:00am, the captain will drive you to the pier to board a private craft, a fishing boat adapted for the tour (benches and cushions, cooler…). Day in the Bay of Paraty, traveling from an island to another and a beach to another. Stops planned on different sites suitable for swimming or snorkeling among hundreds of fishes (mask and snorkel included): ilha Comprida, saco da Velha, praia Vermelha... Return to Paraty around 04:00pm / 05:00pm.

Option: English-speaking guide.

Night at the pousada da Marquesa (breakfast included). Luxury room.
Included : local guide, private transport, room & breakfast

Leave the hotel 8 hours prior to departure and transfer to the airport for your flight from São Paulo (airport, flight time and number to be confirmed).
Included : private transport, transfer departure