Sights

Now, we will show you the best sights, places you could stay with your family, and have a lot of fun.

• Pampulha is an administrative region from Belo Horizonte, and the artificial lake of the same name one of the main tourist attractions. It located the stadiums Governador Magalhães Pinto (Mineirão) and Jornalista Felipe Drummond (Mineirinho) and various clubs. Each year the International Pampulha Tour is played , in the Otacílio Negrão de Lima Avenue, which surrounds the lagoon. Also at the turn of the year is the largest fireworks show of the state, bringing together about 300 000 people in the neighborhood.
  
  • Top of Mangabeiras going up at the Afonso Pena, is the neighborhood Mangabeiras, one of the city's tallest and most noble neighborhood of Belo Horizonte. Among the great mansions and The Serra do Curral, are the Palace of Mangabeiras (official residence of the governor), the Flag Square and Plaza Governador Israel Pinheiro, popularly known as Plaza of the Pope: in 1980, during the visit of Papa João Paulo II, he exclaimed: "You can look at the mountains and Belo Horizonte, but especially when I look at you, should I say, what a beautiful horizon." The fact that just naming the square, which is one of the best places to see the whole city.
    
    • Savassi.
      The Italian Amilcare Savassi settled in the region in 1930 and built a bakery with his surname, which became famous for the youth rally around the establishment in the Square Diogo Vasconcelos, the Class of Savassi. It gained the nickname Square Savassi. Today the bakery is gone but his name was in the neighborhood and the square where it was located. More than a neighborhood, Savassi is a traditional area of trade in the city and nightlife, with many clubs, restaurants, concert halls and nightclubs. Includes the Freedom Square, a large shopping mall (the Patio Savassi), part of the Avenida do Contorno and the beginning of Avenida Nossa Senhora do Carmo.

Hotels

In Belo Horizonte there are many hotels. Most of them are great and comfortable. We will present you some of the bests.
The bests:

• Ouro Minas Palace Hotel, which is a great 5 star hotel, and one of the bests of here. Important people had stayed there for a while, like Lula, the argentina squad, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, etc.
  
  • Mercure Palace Hotel, where many important people had stayed, like the Harlem Globetrotters..
    
    • Quality Afonso Pena, which is very well localized,good and not so expensive.

Transportation

Bus System
The bus system has a large number of bus lines going through all parts in the city, and is administrated by BHTRANS. Among the upcoming projects are the expansion of the integration between bus lines and the metro, with integrated stations, many already in use. And the construction of bus corridors, with lanes and bus stops exclusively for the bus lines. Keeping buses from traffic congestions, making the trips more viable for commuters.

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Metro

Belo Horizonte Metro or MetroBH started operating at the end of 1970s, and is one of the oldest urban railways in the country. There is still just one line, with 19 stations, from Vilarinho to Eldorado Station, in Contagem, but it is now insufficient to address the commuting needs of the entire city, transporting a little over 160,000 people daily. Two new lines, one from Santa Tereza to Barreiro, which is being built, and one from Pampulha to Savassi, which is being planned. There is also a project for the expansion for the first line, from Vilarinho to Ribeirão das Neves and from Eldorado to Betim. When completed, the MetroBH is expected to transport over 800,000 people daily.

How to get in Belo Horizonte?

Well, to get in BH, you could catch airplaines or hit the road. We'll start talking about our airports.

AIRPORTS

-Here in BH, there is only one international airport: The Tancredo Neves/Confins Airport, wich is located in the municipalities of Lagoa Santa and Confins, 38 km (23 miles) from Belo Horizonte, and was opened in January 1984. Plans for gradual expansion to meet growing demand had been already drawn up from the airport's inception. The airport has one of the lowest rates of shutdown for bad weather in the country. It ran at limited capacity until 2005, when a large proportion of Pampulha Airport air traffic was transferred to Confins.

-Besides that airport, there are more two airports that operate regional flights of small planes and helicopters, The Pampulha Airport, and The Carlos Prates Airport.

HIGHWAYS

The city is connected to the rest of Minas Gerais state and the country by a number of roadways. Minas Gerais has the country's largest federal highway network.

-BR-040 connects Belo Horizonte to Rio de Janeiro (going south) and Brasília (going northwest). It also links other cities in the state, such as Juiz de Fora, Connselheiro Lafaiete, Santos Dumont, Sete Lagoas, and Paracatu.

-BR-262 begins in Mato Grosso do Sul and ends in Espírito Santo, crossing Minas Gerais from west to east. It links Belo Horizonte to Pará de Minas, Araxá, Manhuaçu, Uberaba, and Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo state.

-BR-381 is an important federal highway. It connects Belo Horizonte to São Paulo

Welcome To BH!!

Before we give you tips about Belo Horizonte, we'll tell you some facts of the city.

- The region was first settled in the early 18th century, but the city as it is known today was planned and constructed in the 1890s, in order to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of Minas Gerais;

- The city is built on several hills and completely surrounded by mountains;

- The city features a mixture of contemporary and classical buildings, and hosts several modern Brazilian architectural icons, most notably the Pampulha Complex;

- There are several large parks in the immediate surroundings of Belo Horizonte like Parque Mangabeiras.