What to See in Belo Horizonte - Top Sights and Attractions

Modern Catholic church completed in 1943. The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a chapel in Pampulha region of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. It was designed by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in the organic modern style. It is the first listed modern architectural monument in Brazil and consists of four undulating concrete parabolas with outdoor mosaics. The interior hosts a mural by Candido Portinari, and the exterior features a landscape designed by Roberto Burle Marx.

The curved lines of the church enchanted artists and architects, but scandalized the city's conservative culture. Despite its completion in 1943 and Juscelino Kubitschek's call for its consecration, the church was not consecrated until 1959. For 14 years, the ecclesiastical authorities, led by Antonio dos Santos Cabral, prohibited the chapel from providing Catholic services.

As of July 2016, the church is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of the Pampulha Modern Ensemble, a collection of Niemeyer buildings in Pampulha.^[1]

Historical landmark in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Praça Sete de Setembro normally called Praça Sete, is a square inside Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in the center of the city's downtown. It's located at the intersection of two major avenues, Afonso Pena and Amazonas, and by the streets Rio de Janeiro and Carijós.

It boasts an obelisk at its center donated by the people of the neighboring Capela Nova do Betim, today the city of Betim, the inhabitants of the state capital, on the occasion of the commemoration of the centenary of the Independence of Brazil, on September 7, 1822. The "Lollipop", as it is known, is made of granite and formed by a 7m needle supported over a square pedestal adorned by a pole in each of its vertices. It was designed by architect Antonio Rego and built by engineer Antonio Gonçalves Gravatá. history.^[2]

Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Estádio Raimundo Sampaio, more commonly known as Independência, is a football stadium located in the Horto neighborhood of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was built in 1950 for the FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil. Initially its capacity was 30,000 people, but after the reconstruction between 2010 and 2012, the capacity is approximately 23,000 people. It belonged to the defunct Sete de Setembro Futebol Clube, which is why the stadium is called Independence. The stadium is currently property of América Futebol Clube, but has been leased to the Minas Gerais state government for 20 years, as a counterpart to the injection of public resources to demolish the old stadium and build the new one.

Estádio Independência is the second most important stadium in Belo Horizonte, behind only Mineirão. Its formal name honors Raimundo Sampaio, a former chairman of Sete de Setembro. América plays their home games in there.^[4]

The Praça Raul Soares is a major square of Belo Horizonte. Built in French style, it is situated at the confluence of four major avenues: Amazonas, Augusto de Lima, Bias Fortes and Olegário Maciel. The square is named in honor of the former governor of Minas Gerais, Raul Soares de Moura.

In 2008, the square underwent revitalization that was funded through the municipal Participatory Budgeting program and cost the equivalent of $2,600,000 U.S. dollars. The flowerbeds, sidewalks, large fountain and drinking fountains were restored. The project aimed to give more security and accessibility to the flow of pedestrians. Compromised trees were replaced, lampposts were resized, and advertisements were removed or adjusted in accordance with the appropriate codes. The walks were improved to provide easy access for the disabled and the visually impaired.

Praça Raul Soares is listed by IEPHA (Instituto Estadual do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico de Minas Gerais) and therefore cannot be redeveloped, just restored.^[5]

The Praça Diogo de Vasconcelos or Praça da Savassi is a public square of Savassi, in the city of Belo Horizonte. It is located at the confluence of the avenues Cristóvão Colombo and Getúlio Vargas. Also there flow the streets Pernambuco and Antônio de Albuquerque.

Its official name honors the politician and historian Diogo de Vasconcelos, which stood out as a pioneer in defense of the historical and artistic heritage, mining and national level and is considered the first historian of art in Brazil. The official name is not as popular as the informal Square Savassi, which derives from the Bakery Savassi who had a seat at the corner of Rua Pernambuco with avenida Cristóvão Colombo. The marquee's original bakery could still be seen on the site, behind the plateboutiqueToulon until the installation of a coffee shop Arturo's, when it was removed.

The square a lively meeting place for belo-horizontinos, since it is located in the center of the neighborhood of Savassi, an important commercial city. The wide range of patrons range from families who go shopping or to the cafes and restaurants in the area until the young bohemian who frequents the bars or spend the weekend nights on the banks of the square. Since 2006, the site that once housed mostly boutiques, restaurants and snack bars, shops was invaded by mobile companies. The patrons of the traditional Café Três Corações (Three Hearts Café) came to protest against its closure at the site due to the opening of a store operator Claro. After the protest, the cafe has been reopened in a smaller area, corresponding to a small fraction of the old facility, with access only by Rua Antonio de Albuquerque.^[6]

Sports arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Mineirinho Arena, sometimes called just Mineirinho, is the biggest indoor sporting arena in Brazil. Located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the arena holds 25,000 people.

Mineirinho is located in the Sports Complex of Mineirão Stadium in the Pampulha, which was one of the headquarters of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The nickname (small Mineiro) is due to being located close to the larger Mineirão (big Mineiro), the stadium.

At the time of its construction, the now extinct ADEMG (Administração de Estádios do Estado de Minas Gerais), the organization responsible for building the arena, was administered by sportswriters, who decided to honor Felipe Drummond, one of the most important sportswriters in the history of Minas Gerais, for his work as a journalist.^[7]

Basilica in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes, also known as the Basilica of Belo Horizonte, is a Catholic church built in a predominantly neo-Gothic style, which is located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Its construction was completed around 1923. The author of the project was Manoel Tunes, and the works were made by Antonio Gonçalves Gravatá. In 1958 he was elevated to Basilica by decision of Pope Pius XII.

The Church has three naves and has a length of 47 meters in length and 17 in width. In the interior there are three images of the Virgin Mary in her invocation of Our Lady of Lourdes, A wooden one, usually used in processions and coronations; A sculpted one in plaster, more than 100 years old, that is in the Grotto of Lourdes and another on the altar, which was brought from Rio de Janeiro on the occasion of the consecration of the church to the status of basilica, an act formally made in 1958.^[10]

The Minas Gerais Vale Memorial Museum is an artistic and cultural museum dedicated to the traditions of the people of Minas Gerais located in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The former Secretaria da Fazenda building was restored and adapted to show the history of Minas Gerais to the public. Sponsored by Vale, which invested R$27 million, the memorial was designed by Flávio Grillo. It opened on November 30, 2010 and is part of the Liberdade Square Cultural Circuit.

With an architectural project by architects Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes, Eduardo França, Humberto Hermeto, and Igor Macedo, and a museographic project by designer Gringo Cardia, the memorial uses virtual resources to bring together, in a single space, part of the state's cultural wealth, from the 18th century to the contemporary scenario, including a futuristic perspective.

Environments that mix the real and the virtual reconstruct the universe of Minas Gerais' writers, the world of the farms, the indigenous tribes and quilombos, the baroque, popular festivals, handicrafts, politics, and the archeology of Minas Gerais' soil.

The Museum of Arts and Crafts. is a Brazilian museum located in the city of Belo Horizonte. Inaugurated on December 14, 2005, it is the first Brazilian museum enterprise dedicated entirely to the theme of work, arts and crafts in the country. With an area of 9,000 m², the museum is housed in the historical complex of the former Central Station of the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil (Brazilian Central Railroad), at Praça Rui Barbosa, better known as Praça da Estação (Station Square), and at the former Belo Horizonte Station of the Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas (Western Minas Railroad). It is one of the best structured museums in Brazil in terms of organization, structure for exhibitions, and use of audiovisual resources.

The museum is an initiative of the Flávio Gutierrez Cultural Institute and was developed from the donation to the public patrimony of a collection of more than 2,000 pieces, from the 18th to the 20th centuries, by the cultural entrepreneur Angela Gutierrez, who also worked in the formation of the Oratory Museum, in Ouro Preto. The collection shows the richness of popular production in the pre-industrial era: the doings, arts, and crafts that gave rise to contemporary professions. By going through it, with the support of museographic resources and educational activities, the visitor will be able to see a wide panel of the history and social relations of labor in Brazil, in the last three centuries.

The Christ the King Cathedral, also known as the Belo Horizonte Cathedral, is a Catholic religious cathedral, currently under construction, located in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, in Brazil. The building is the latest project of the renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer for the city and will be the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte.

The cathedral is dedicated to Christ the King, according to the election of Bishop Antonio dos Santos Cabral, who arrived in Belo Horizonte in 1922 to install the diocese of the capital. The original proposal for the cathedral location would be today at Milton Campos Square, at the top of Afonso Pena Avenue, in the southern and central region of Belo Horizonte, at a time when there were only three churches in Belo Horizonte: Our Lady of Good Journey, temporary headquarters of the diocese, the Church of St. Joseph and the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, however, the site chosen for the building was a plot on the Cristiano Machado Avenue in the north of the city.

The work, funded by donations, began in 2013 and is expected to be completed by 2020.^[13]