Guide to Brazil
Southeast
The Southeast Region is the most populated in Brazil. Over 80 million Brazilians live in the four states that comprise the region — Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.
The privileged geography of Rio de Janeiro includes a mild climate in the mountainous Serrana Region, abundant green areas and a coastline with beautiful beaches and bays that invite to endless boat rides and the practice of sports. Rio de Janeiro, the ‘Marvellous City’, has mountains that provide a dramatic backdrop to the ocean and forests that embrace its modern and colonial buildings, and seduces millions of visitors each year with its explosive cheerfulness, especially during Carnival.
São Paulo is the largest metropolis in Brazil — with over 11 million inhabitants — and is one of the world's gastronomy capitals, boasting a rich cultural heritage thanks to the different immigrants who shaped its development, such as the Japanese and Italians, who arrived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Espírito Santo has mountain ranges coloured with cities that are strongly marked by German colonisation and a rich coastline with calm water beaches. In Minas Gerais, the attention-capturing Baroque-art jewels of its cities reflect the wealth of Brazil's Gold Rush — cities such as Tiradentes and Ouro Preto are both lavish with works of ‘Mestre’ Aleijadinho.