Language · 11 published
Country guide
Brazil is the largest country in South America and the fifth largest on earth, with over 213 million people, 26 states and a Federal District built to hold the capital, Brasília. Its Atlantic coastline runs 7,491 kilometres and it borders every country on the continent except Ecuador and Chile. Most of the Amazon basin is Brazilian, including the world's largest river system and the most extensive virgin tropical forest left standing; the same country also holds wetlands, savanna, plateau and low mountains. São Paulo is the most populous city and Rio de Janeiro the second. The distance between any two of these is the planning problem.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Thomas Hobbs · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photograph · Rafael Rabello de Barros · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
30 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Tijuca National Park is a protected area within Rio de Janeiro, designated as a national park under Brazilian federal conservation management. The park encompasses Atlantic Forest biome territory and is recognized as one of the largest urban national parks globally.
Parque Ibirapuera
Ibirapuera Park is São Paulo's flagship urban park and its most concentrated modernist cultural landscape. Located in the southern zone of Brazil's largest city, it occupies a significant portion of the Moema, Paraíso, and Vila Mariana districts.
Jardim Botântico
The Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, locally called Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, is a historic scientific garden in Brazil's famous coastal city. Established in the imperial era, it serves as a major center for botanical research and conservation.
Parque Henrique Lage
Parque Lage is a public park at the edge of Tijuca Forest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It centres on a historic mansion that houses a visual-arts school, the Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage.
Jardim Botânico de São Paulo
São Paulo Botanical Garden, Jardim Botânico de São Paulo, is a substantial green and scientific landscape within Brazil’s largest city. The garden protects and presents Atlantic Forest vegetation while also offering formal landscaped grounds for public visits.
Quinta da Boa Vista is a large historic public park in Rio de Janeiro, occupying former imperial grounds associated with the Portuguese royal family and the Brazilian imperial family.
Aterro do Flamengo
Flamengo Park, known locally as Parque do Flamengo, is a vast bayfront landscape in Rio de Janeiro designed by Roberto Burle Marx. The park stretches along Guanabara Bay, connecting multiple districts through green space.
Parque da Independência
Independence Park, known locally as Parque da Independência, is a monumental public landscape in São Paulo. The park encompasses the historic site where Brazilian independence was proclaimed in 1822.
Two Brothers Hill, known locally as Morro Dois Irmãos, is a prominent mountain peak in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone. The summit rises above the Vidigal favela and offers panoramic vistas of the city's famous coastline.
Praça Quinze de Novembro
Fifteenth of November Square, or Praça XV de Novembro, is a historic public square in Rio de Janeiro’s Centro district. It stands beside Guanabara Bay and has long connected civic life, maritime movement and the city’s historic core.
Campo de Santana is a historic public park in central Rio de Janeiro. The green space has served as a civic setting through major phases of Brazilian history and remains an important pause within the dense downtown fabric.
Parque da Aclimação
Aclimação Park, Parque da Aclimação, is a traditional public green space in São Paulo’s central-south Aclimação district. Its main landscape feature is a lake surrounded by planted grounds, giving the neighbourhood a calm outdoor focus within the wider metropolis.
Passeio Público, represented here as Public Promenade, is a historic public park in central Rio de Janeiro.
Vale do Anhangabaú is a broad civic promenade in São Paulo's historic centre, occupying the valley between two central ridges. It is an urban public space and movement corridor rather than a contained museum or monument.
Parque Burle Marx is a landscape park in São Paulo preserving a garden designed by Roberto Burle Marx, the renowned Brazilian landscape architect.
Parque da Água Branca is a historic public park in São Paulo's Barra Funda district. Established as an agricultural exhibition ground, it retains its heritage character while serving as urban green space.
Parque Natural Municipal Bosque da Barra
Barra Woods, or Bosque da Barra, is a restinga park in Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone. It preserves native coastal vegetation on sandy ground within the rapidly developing Barra da Tijuca area.
Praia Vermelha, known in English as Red Beach, is a compact sheltered beach in Rio de Janeiro's Urca neighbourhood. It sits directly beneath the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain and Morro da Urca, two of the city's most recognisable landmarks.
Praia de Copacabana
Copacabana Beach, known locally as Praia de Copacabana, is Rio de Janeiro's most internationally recognised urban beach and promenade. The crescent-shaped stretch of sand and adjacent Avenida Atlântica form one of the most iconic coastal cityscapes globally.
Praça Mauá is a renewed civic square in Rio de Janeiro's port zone, situated at the intersection of Avenida Rio Branco and Avenida Rodrigues Alves.
Ipanema Beach, known locally as Praia de Ipanema, is a landmark beach in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone. It stretches between Arpoador rock formation to the east and the Morro Dois Irmãos mountains to the west.
Praça Ramos de Azevedo
Municipal Theatre Square, known as Praça Ramos de Azevedo, is a formal public square in São Paulo’s historic centre.
Joatinga Beach is a small, secluded cove in Rio de Janeiro’s western zone, between São Conrado and Barra da Tijuca. Cliffs and coastal vegetation frame the sand, creating a quieter setting than Copacabana or Ipanema.
Prainha is a compact crescent-shaped beach in Rio de Janeiro’s far western zone. Atlantic Forest vegetation covers the surrounding hills, giving the cove a distinctly wild setting compared with the city’s built-up waterfront.
Parque Villa-Lobos
Villa-Lobos Park, Parque Villa-Lobos, is a large public recreation area in western São Paulo named after Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Parque Augusta
Augusta Park, officially Parque Augusta - Prefeito Bruno Covas, is a central public park near Rua Augusta in São Paulo. Mature trees and historic structures give it a distinctive identity within the dense Jardins and Consolação area.
Praia da Barra da Tijuca
Praia da Barra da Tijuca is Rio de Janeiro's longest urban beach, stretching along the West Zone and serving as the district's defining coastal feature.
Praia de Grumari
Praia de Grumari is a long, less-developed beach located in Rio de Janeiro's West Zone. It sits within protected Atlantic forest landscapes, offering a more natural setting compared to the city's more urbanized beaches.
Praia do Leblon is an upscale beach in Rio de Janeiro's Zona Sul, forming the western continuation of Ipanema Beach.
Centro Cultural São Paulo
Centro Cultural São Paulo is a large municipal cultural complex operated by the city government. Located in the Paraíso district, it serves as a major public venue for cultural activities.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Brazil’s scale makes 10–16 days appropriate for one region rather than a national circuit. Build around a single gateway such as Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, then add one coherent coastal, nature or cultural extension.
Visa information is maintained by Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its consular portal. Eligibility depends on nationality and visit purpose; use the ministry’s current table instead of relying on a past visa waiver.
São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro handle major international and domestic connections. Flights bridge the country’s long distances, coaches cover many regional corridors, and national passenger rail is not a general substitute for either.
Brazil has no single best month because Amazon, northeast-coast, Pantanal and southern conditions differ. April–June and August–October are broad shoulder periods, but the chosen region’s rainfall and access cycle should decide the dates.
The Brazilian real (BRL) is the unit used for prices. This guide does not record current bank fees or acceptance patterns; check the displayed total and conversion currency before authorising a card or cash transaction.
Brazil separates emergency services: 190 police, 192 ambulance and 193 fire. Type N sockets operate at either 127 or 220 V depending on location, and national tap-water suitability is Not recorded.
