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...
Photograph · Tet · CC BY 4.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
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.
Checked 2026-08-25
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.
72 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
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.
Penha Church, formally Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Penha, is a Catholic pilgrimage sanctuary on a granite outcrop in Rio de Janeiro’s Penha neighborhood. Its defining feature is the long ceremonial staircase leading up to the church.
The Selaron Steps, known locally as Escadaria Selarón, comprise a world-famous tiled staircase connecting the Lapa and Santa Teresa neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro.
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.
Viaduto do Chá is a historic bridge in central São Paulo, crossing the Vale do Anhangabaú between the older city centre and newer downtown. Built in the late nineteenth century, it reflects the rapid urban growth of the coffee-boom era.
Passeio Público, represented here as Public Promenade, is a historic public park in central Rio de Janeiro.
Teleférico do Pão de Açúcar
Sugarloaf Cable Car is the aerial route through Parque Bondinho Pão de Açúcar, connecting the ground station at Praia Vermelha with Morro da Urca and Sugarloaf Mountain.
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.
Cratera de Colônia
Colônia Crater, or Cratera de Colônia, is a large meteorite-impact structure in São Paulo’s Parelheiros district. It is recognised as a protected geosite and represents an important geological feature within the metropolitan area.
Parque Burle Marx is a landscape park in São Paulo preserving a garden designed by Roberto Burle Marx, the renowned Brazilian landscape architect.
Catedral de São Sebastião
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian, known locally as Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Rio de Janeiro.
Auditório Ibirapuera
Ibirapuera Auditorium is a concert hall designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer within São Paulo’s Ibirapuera Park. The building belongs to the park’s modernist cultural ensemble and is recognised for its sweeping curves and bold geometric form.
Igreja e Mosteiro de São Bento
The Monastery of Saint Benedict, known locally as Mosteiro de São Bento, is a hilltop Benedictine monastery in Rio de Janeiro. Founded by Benedictine monks, it stands as one of the most significant colonial religious institutions in the city.
Casa do Grito is a historic rammed-earth house in São Paulo’s Ipiranga independence landscape. It belongs to a heritage setting that also includes the Monument to Independence, Parque da Independência, and the Ipiranga Museum.
Sala São Paulo is a major concert hall housed within the historic Júlio Prestes Station, a former railway terminal in central São Paulo. It serves as the permanent home of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP).
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.
Chinese View, or Vista Chinesa, is a pagoda-style observation pavilion in Rio de Janeiro’s Tijuca Forest. It honours the Chinese immigrants associated with the introduction of tea cultivation to Brazil in the early nineteenth century.
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.
Cemitério da Consolação
Cemitério da Consolação is a historic cemetery in São Paulo, Brazil. Established in the late 19th century, it serves as the final resting place for numerous prominent Brazilian figures.
Confeitaria Colombo is a historic café and confectionery in downtown Rio de Janeiro, widely recognised as the city's most celebrated Belle Époque establishment. Founded in 1894, it occupies a prominent position on Rua Gonçalves Dias.
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.
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.
