Guia do Brasil

It was on the white sand beaches of Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina, that Gustavo Kuerten, the greatest tennis player in Brazil’s history, was raised. Florianópolis is also the hometown of athlete Fabiana Beltrame, silver medallist in the single skiff event in Guadalajara in 2011 and the first Brazilian paddler to compete in the Olympics, namely Athens 2004.

Florianópolis, a city marked by the strength of its younger inhabitants, nautical sports and surfing Championships, was the stage for the Canoe/Kayak IC F World Championship - Senior in 2004 and the Davis Cup Tennis in 2007. On the northern coastline of Santa Catarina, the city of Balneário Camboriú – which hosted the 2009 ITU Triathlon Pan American Cup – is recognised by the attraction of tourists to the Santa Catarina coastline and lists it as a major tourist destination in the country.

Including its beaches and nature reserves, Santa Catarina is also breathtaking for its cultural mosaic, which is made up of over 50 ethnic groups. In cities such as Blumenau, the influence of German colonisation is present in its gastronomy, in the architecture of its historic centre and in the language. In the southern region of the state, the Morro da Igreja is the highest inhabited point of the South Region of Brazil —the Santa Catarina sierra offers several options for hiking and horseback riding and is characterised by the beauty of its rock formations and low winter temperatures.