Premium · Private & Tailor-Made
Brazil's Baroque Heart
The gold-rush highlands of southeast Brazil: the country's finest baroque towns, Aleijadinho's masterpieces, the world-class art of Inhotim and Brazil's most-loved cuisine, Comida Mineira. Three to four privately guided days based in colonial Ouro Preto and the capital Belo Horizonte, with day trips to Mariana, Congonhas and Inhotim.
Duration
3–4 days, extendable
Accommodation
Colonial pousada in Ouro Preto + boutique hotel in Belo Horizonte
Highlights
Ouro Preto & Mariana · Congonhas (Aleijadinho) · Inhotim · Comida Mineira
The Experience
Long before Rio, the story of modern Brazil was written here, in the cool highlands of Minas Gerais. The gold and gemstones found in these hills in the late seventeenth century set off a rush that built Portugal into a world power and left behind the most beautiful colonial towns in the country. Ouro Preto, the first place in Brazil to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the jewel: painted houses and thirteen baroque churches spilling down steep cobbled streets, still lived-in, still a lively university town rather than a museum.
From a base in Ouro Preto and the capital Belo Horizonte, the region opens up in easy day trips. Nearby Mariana, the state's oldest town, hides gilded churches and old gold mines you can walk into. At Congonhas stands the masterpiece of Aleijadinho, the crippled mixed-race sculptor who became the genius of Brazilian baroque: his twelve life-size soapstone prophets guarding the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus, a UNESCO site in their own right. And on the other side of Belo Horizonte, Inhotim blends one of the world's great open-air contemporary-art collections into a 250-hectare botanical garden, a full, unforgettable day.
Minas is also, quite simply, where Brazil eats best. Comida Mineira, slow-cooked pork, homemade cheeses, cachaça and the country's finest coffee, is a cuisine in its own right, and half the pleasure of travelling here. We base you in a colonial pousada in Ouro Preto and a boutique hotel in Belo Horizonte, keep the driving short, and fold in the food along the way. It slots neatly onto the end of a Rio trip along the old Estrada Real gold road, or as a cultural counterpoint to the beaches and the Amazon.
Where in Brazil
Minas Gerais sits in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Here's exactly where your journey unfolds on the map of Brazil, one of the handpicked stops in our portfolio.
Things To Do
We don't list every tour, only the ones we'd actually send you on: the unmissable classics, plus a few most visitors never find.
Half to full day
The old gold capital on foot with your private guide: the gilded interiors of São Francisco de Assis and the hilltop churches, the mineralogy and sacred-art museums, the artisan workshops working soapstone and gemstones, and the story of the 1789 independence conspiracy that began right here. Steep and cobbled, taken at your pace.
Half day
A short hop from Ouro Preto to Mariana, the oldest town in Minas and its first capital: a serene main square lined with baroque churches, one holding a rare German pipe organ still played in concert. Nearby you can descend into the Mina da Passagem, an old gold mine you enter by mine cart, deep under the hills that started it all.
Half day (en route)
The single greatest work of Brazilian baroque, and easily woven into the transfer between Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto. On the terrace of the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos stand twelve life-size prophets carved in soapstone by Aleijadinho, each in mid-gesture, mid-sentence. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and unforgettable up close.
Full day
One of the world's great contemporary-art destinations, a day trip from Belo Horizonte. Monumental installations sit in purpose-built pavilions across 250 hectares of botanical garden, home to some 5,000 plant species and one of the finest palm collections anywhere. Bring your swimwear, there are pools and shaded lakes, it is as much a day in nature as in a gallery.
Half day
The modern counterpoint to the baroque. Around the Pampulha lake stands Oscar Niemeyer's early masterwork, the curving church of São Francisco, part of a UNESCO-listed modernist ensemble. Then the tree-lined Praça da Liberdade with its cluster of museums, and the vast Mercado Central, the best possible introduction to the flavours of Minas.
Half day
The reason many travellers fall for Minas. A guided taste of the state's celebrated country cooking, cheeses matured on the farm (one method recognised as Brazilian cultural heritage), pão de queijo, slow pork and beans, doce de leite, paired with artisanal cachaça and the country's best coffee. We can do this in a Belo Horizonte institution or a farmhouse table in the hills.
1–2 days (add-on)
For those with a little longer, the mountains behind the towns. The Serra do Cipó national park is a garden of waterfalls, springs and rare orchids; at the old Caraça monastery, high in the Espinhaço range, the priest still sets out meat each night and wild maned wolves come to the steps. A quiet, wild counterweight to the baroque.
Day-by-Day
This is just one example of how your days could unfold, every itinerary is private and fully tailored, so we gladly reshape it around your pace, interests and travel dates.
Your private guide meets you at Confins airport and transfers you into Belo Horizonte, the modern capital and gateway to the region. If you arrive with energy, we begin gently: the Niemeyer architecture around the Pampulha lake, the museums of the Praça da Liberdade, and a first wander through the Mercado Central, a delicious introduction to the flavours of Minas over a coffee and a warm pão de queijo. Overnight in a boutique hotel in the Savassi or Lourdes district.
We drive south towards the historic towns, stopping at Congonhas to stand before Aleijadinho's Twelve Prophets at the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus, the high point of Brazilian baroque sculpture. From there it is a short, scenic road to Ouro Preto, where you settle into a colonial pousada in the heart of the old town. An easy first evening wandering the cobbled streets as the churches light up. Overnight in Ouro Preto.
A full, privately guided day in and around the old gold capital. In Ouro Preto: the gilded São Francisco de Assis, the hilltop churches and viewpoints, the museums and the soapstone and gemstone workshops. In the afternoon a short drive to Mariana, the state's oldest town, with its baroque churches and, if you like, a descent into a colonial gold mine. Back to Ouro Preto for a Comida Mineira dinner. Overnight in Ouro Preto.
How you finish is yours to choose. Art lovers add a night back in Belo Horizonte for a full day at Inhotim, the extraordinary open-air museum and botanical garden at Brumadinho. Others prefer to keep it tight and transfer back to Confins for an onward flight, or to carry on down the old Estrada Real gold road towards Rio de Janeiro. We plan the ending around your route and your flights, and tell you honestly what is worth the extra time.
Tell us your dates and we'll build Minas Gerais into your route, an easy flight or the classic Estrada Real drive from Rio de Janeiro.
Plan My TripWhat's Included
Your own English- or German-speaking guide who knows the baroque towns, the art and the history, and the best table in every town.
Confins airport, both hotels and every excursion in a private, air-conditioned vehicle, with the scenic stops built into the drive.
A characterful colonial pousada in the heart of Ouro Preto and a personally vetted boutique hotel in Belo Horizonte, short walks from the best of each.
Ouro Preto and Mariana, the Congonhas prophets, optional Inhotim and the food of Minas are woven into your days, the living region, not a rushed checklist.
Continue your journey
The places we most love to combine with Minas Gerais, woven into one private, tailor-made journey.
Combine it
Minas Gerais features in these guided multi-stop journeys across Brazil, or we weave it into a tailor-made route of your own.
Good to know
Three to four days is the sweet spot. That comfortably covers Belo Horizonte, the Congonhas prophets, and Ouro Preto with a half-day in Mariana, based in just two hotels with short drives. Add a fourth or fifth day if you'd like a full day at Inhotim, or a nature escape into the Serra do Cipó. It combines beautifully with Rio de Janeiro, either a short flight or the classic Estrada Real drive.
Honestly, for most trips we'd say no. Tiradentes is charming, but it sits well south of the Ouro Preto–Belo Horizonte cluster, so it means extra nights and a long drive back to Confins airport, which adds cost, and it doesn't add much history you won't already have seen, and felt more vividly, in Ouro Preto, Mariana and Congonhas. We'd rather keep your route tight and your days rich. If you have a real appetite for more colonial towns and the time to enjoy them, we'll happily build it in, but we'll always tell you the trade-off first.
You fly into Belo Horizonte's Confins international airport (frequent connections from Rio and São Paulo), where your guide meets you; from there everything is a short private drive. Inhotim, near Brumadinho on the far side of Belo Horizonte, is genuinely world-class and well worth a full day if you love contemporary art or gardens, but it sits in the opposite direction from Ouro Preto, so we build it as a dedicated day from Belo Horizonte rather than squeezing it into the baroque loop.
The highland climate is mild all year. The dry season, roughly April to September, brings the clearest, most comfortable days for walking the cobbled towns; the wetter months (October to March) are greener and warmer with afternoon showers that rarely spoil a day. Easter and the town festivals are atmospheric in the baroque cities but busier, we'll plan around the calendar either way.
The historic towns are among the calmest, most welcoming places to travel in Brazil, and Ouro Preto in particular is a safe, lively university town. Belo Horizonte is a big city and rewards the same sensible city habits as any other, which is exactly what your private guide is there for. Very little English is spoken once you leave the main hotels, so a bilingual local guide is what turns a good trip into an easy one.
Plan my trip
Start with a blank page, share what you have in mind and we design a private trip from scratch. Non-binding & personal, we reply within 24 hours.
Rather compose it yourself, stop by stop? Design your own journey
We'll be in touch within 24 hours to start planning. Want to talk sooner? Message us on WhatsApp.
Chat on WhatsApp
