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Voykit pocket guide · Brazil
Belo Horizonte
Give BH two nights as a base for the colonial towns, not as a sightseeing stop: the centre is a grid of hills and the real draw is Ouro Preto, 2 h away.
Belo Horizonte is Brazil's sixth-largest city and the capital of Minas Gerais, founded in 1897 as a planned replacement for Ouro Preto. Travellers use it as a transport hub and food city: the bar-and-buteco culture is the reason to stay, and the colonial towns of the state are the reason to be here at all. Two nights covers the centre, Pampulha and Savassi if you arrive by noon on day one; add nights only for day trips.
- Country
- Brazil
- Best months
- Apr–Sep (dry, mild)
- Avoid
- Dec–Mar (daily thunderstorms, flooding in parts of the city)
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- BRL
- Money
- Currency is the Brazilian real (BRL, R$). About R$5–5.8 per US dollar in 2026 — check. Cards and tap-to-pay are accepted almost everywhere, even at beach kiosks.
- Daily spend
- Budget R$180–280 excl. bed · Mid R$300–500 excl. bed · High R$600+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Vivo, Claro and TIM cover the country; buying a prepaid SIM needs a passport and sometimes a CPF — an eSIM before you fly is easier.
- Emergency
- Police 190 · Ambulance 192 · Fire 193
- Plugs
- Types N, C · 127 V (Rio, São Paulo) or 220 V (Brasília, much of the Northeast) · Check the voltage on the socket; most chargers are dual-voltage.
- Tipping
- Restaurant: 10% service (serviço) usually on the bill; optional but normal.; Beach kiosk / bar: Often included; round up.; Taxi / Uber: Not expected; round up.; Guide: US$5–15 per person per day.; Hotel staff: Small tip for porters.
- Water
- Do not drink tap water; filtered water is provided in most homes and hotels.
- Toilets
- Put toilet paper in the bin, not the toilet, in most places.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | R$6–12 |
| Buteco plate (petisco) to share | R$30–60 |
| Prato feito lunch | R$25–45 |
| Beer, 600 ml bottle | R$12–20 |
| Metrô or bus ride | R$5–6 (check) |
| App ride across the centre | R$20–35 |
| Museum entry | R$0–30 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- CNF · Tancredo Neves International (Confins)
- About 40 km from the centre; bus, app ride or taxi. Direct flights to the US, Europe and the Caribbean, plus most Brazilian cities.About 25 mi from the centre; bus, app ride or taxi. Direct flights to the US, Europe and the Caribbean, plus most Brazilian cities.
- PLU · Pampulha (Carlos Drummond de Andrade)
- 9 km from downtown; a few domestic flights, mainly within Minas Gerais.5.6 mi from downtown; a few domestic flights, mainly within Minas Gerais.
Typical fares
- Confins → centre, app ride
- about R$75–125, 40–60 min (check)
- Confins → centre, airport bus
- about R$14 conventional / R$30 executive (check)
- Bus BH → Ouro Preto
- about R$40–60, 2 h (check)
Get around
The Metrô is one line, tangential to the north of downtown, and does not reach Savassi or Pampulha. Buses are colour-coded and slow at rush hour; pay cash or with a BHBUS card. App rides (Uber, Cabify) are the practical choice for anything off the metro line, and taxis are metered and safe.
See and do
Known for
- Pampulha Modern Ensemble (Niemeyer, UNESCO)
- Mineirão Stadium
- Praça da Liberdade and its museums
- Mercado Central
- Bar and buteco food culture
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Ouro Preto | Intercity bus from the rodoviária, about 2 h; check which terminal your ticket leaves from | 2.5–3 h |
| Mariana | Bus via Ouro Preto, about 2 h 30 min total | 2.5–3 h |
| Congonhas | Bus south, about 1 h 30 min | 1.5–2 h |
| Tiradentes | Bus, about 3 h 30 min | 3.5–4 h |
| Serro | Bus, 4 h+ | 4 h+ |
| Ouro Branco | Bus, about 2 h | 2–2.5 h |
Sleep
- Savassi
- Bars, restaurants and the Praça da Liberdade museums on foot; the pick for a first visit.
- Centro
- Cheapest beds and the Mercado Central; quiet and empty at night, so keep to the main avenues.
- Pampulha
- Niemeyer church and the Mineirão; 20–30 min by car from the centre, best if you have a car or a stadium date.
- Lourdes
- Upscale, safe, walkable to Savassi; hotels and business dining.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Good morning | Bom diabohn DEE-ah |
| Thank you | Obrigado / Obrigadaoh-bree-GAH-doo / -dah |
| How much is it? | Quanto custa?KWAHN-too KOOS-tah |
| The bill, please | A conta, por favorah KOHN-tah por fah-VOR |
| I don't speak Portuguese | Não falo portuguêsnow FAH-loo por-too-GAYS |
| Where is the toilet? | Onde fica o banheiro?OHN-jee FEE-kah oo bah-NYAY-roo |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake, hug or cheek kiss (one in São Paulo, two in Rio); avoid: Being stiff with new acquaintances
- Gestures: Use thumbs-up freely; avoid: The OK hand sign (it is rude)
- Language: Try Portuguese; say obrigado/obrigada; avoid: Defaulting to Spanish
- Time: Expect relaxed social punctuality; avoid: Being late for tours and flights
- Beach: Bring only a towel, cash and a copy of your ID; avoid: Leaving things unattended
Scams and watch-outs
- The centre is hilly and the diagonal streets make wrong turns easy: carry a map or offline map.
- At night stay on the main avenues; avoid empty streets and the area around metro stations after dark.
- Many museums, Parque Municipal and Mangabeiras park close on Mondays.
- Rainy season (Oct–Mar) brings near-daily afternoon storms and local flooding.
- Check which of the two intercity bus terminals your ticket leaves from before you go.
BH is safer than its reputation suggests if you stay in Savassi, Lourdes or the main avenues after dark. The real risks are empty centre streets at night, phones out at bus stops, and the rainy-season storms.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Belo Horizonte yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Pampulha Modern Ensemble (Niemeyer, UNESCO)
- Mineirão Stadium
- Praça da Liberdade and its museums
- Mercado Central
- Bar and buteco food culture
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- BH Airport (Confins): site.bh-airport.com.br/SitePages/en/Home.aspx
- Pampulha Airport: aeroportos.grupoccr.com.br/pampulha-mg/
- BHTrans bus information: portalbhtrans.pbh.gov.br/quadrodehorario
- National Institute of Meteorology (INMET): portal.inmet.gov.br/
- Wikivoyage: Belo Horizonte, revision 5217821 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5217821
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Belo Horizonte
Para este endereço, por favor
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
The US has a consulate in Belo Horizonte (check the address); most other countries: consulates-general in Rio or São Paulo, embassies in Brasília.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/belo-horizonte). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.