Porto Alegre Travel Guide

(Last update: Oct 03, 2011 )

A city full of buildings of European architecture, an urban business center, natural wonders such as Osso Hill, Lake Guaíba, mountains and other rivers are only a very small part of everything that you will see on the tour of Porto Alegre.

The city

The capital of Rio Grande do Sul is known for keeping its old European-style metropolis. Although time has become one of the urban and industrial centers in the country, yet has never lost its charm of old Europe. Since the beginning of the city, Porto Alegre has been populated by citizens from countries of that continent.Primarily, these foreigners came from northern Germany and Italy, but people also come from other European countries but in smaller amounts.That is why both the architecture and culture in Porto Alegre are heavily influenced with the characteristics of Europe, that we can see very marked in buildings such as Chalet da Praça XV de Novembro and Post Office building. Just by walking along the streets of this city, you will see a beautiful image that looks like an old photograph of a city. But the descendants of immigrants, nowadays covering nearly 80% of the total population, have also continued developing the city to keep the pace of modernization over the years. That is why today we can enjoy excellent shopping, shops of famous brands and brand new hotels equipped to offer its visitors everything they need on their vacation in Porto Alegre.

The streets and avenues of this city are characterized by having a look very attractive by planting trees that took place as part of the natural conservation program of Porto Alegre. Passing by there we can see typical trees of this region, as jacaranda, lapachos and bottle trees, among others.Also a good way for tourists to learn more about the vegetation.

Leisure and gastronomy

Porto Alegre offers visitors a unique, wide and varied entertainment. In the center of the city you will find many shopping malls and shops to stroll looking at and buying souvenirs from this trip, cinemas, theaters, bars and restaurants where you can enjoy the evening dinner, shows and concerts while eating whichever one of the most typical delights of Porto Alegre. Bearing in mind that this is one of the most varied cuisines, you will sure find a menu to satisfy even the most demanding palates. We recommend you to taste the feijoada that represents the most popular cuisine in Porto Alegre, is prepared with pork and vegetables and served with salad or rice, but if you do not like to try new foods, then just choose to order a grilled steak. To accompany these dishes will surely offer a glass of lime juice or a tropical fruit smoothie, and also typical are frothy beers to start the evening.

After the dinner, you can follow the nightlife in one of the bars and clubs in Porto Alegre, where the party starts rather late but it extends until several hours after sunrise.While each place has a different touch of charm to enjoy the night, they all share the same environment, good people, happy music, non-stop dancing and typical drinks like caipirinhas, a fruit cocktail made with sugar cane, lime, sugar and much ice, but if you want something stronger, you can ask them to add vodka or rum, even if you become a drink of "caipiroska" or "caipirissima" in the last case.

Ecotourism

Porto Alegre is located in southern Brazil, at a point where five rivers join, among them the river Jacuí, Guaiba River, and Laguna de los Patos. This gives rise to many landscapes of extreme natural beauty where you can practice ecological tourism, active and natural, enjoying water activities such as rides on boats watching the whole scenery of the shore and getting a beautiful view of the city, or even some entering some of those rivers and practicing sport fishing.

To continue getting great views of Porto Alegre, do not forget to go to Cerro Santa Teresa with a height of 150 meters above the sea from where you may also see the surrounding islands.But if you decide to get into more high, you can climb the Cerro San Pedro or Santana with a height of about 300 meters.Do not forget your camera because the views from up there deserve to be captured in these photos.

Other tours

But returning to the tour of the metropolitan city of Porto Alegre, we can make a route that includes many monuments and cultural centers, among which you can not miss the visit to the Museum of Paleontology, one of the largest museums in the city, located in the middle of downtown area. There are exhibitions about all types of dinosaurs and for art lovers is inevitable journey through the museum Iberê Camargo with artworks of this well known Brazilian artist in the twentieth century. Another important exhibition center is where do Santander Cultural events and visual art exhibitions, film and music.

Also, for those who want to practice religious tourism in Porto Alegre, they can visit the Metropolitan Cathedral, built in 1929, a Renaissance-style building that marks a very important part of history, or the Temple of Porto Alegre that is located in Vila Jardim. This church belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where each meeting will bring together many believers to receive the blessings of the Father.

Parque da Redenção and Botanic Garden of Porto Alegre are the two most important parks of the city. In Parque da Redenção you can hike, ride bikes or make a tour across the craft fairs that are organized on Sundays.Moinhos de Vento Park is another great way to spend sunny afternoons.

Finally, the Central Market where you can buy all sorts of products. It works in a neoclassical building, which houses over 100 stalls offering species, decorations, food and crafts typical of Porto Alegre.

Travel agencies for online booking in Porto Alegre

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