Petrópolis: the landscape that you don't expect in Rio de Janeiro!

Before you leave the municipality of Rio and go to Petrópolis, what do you think about having breakfast? The Kurt bar / pastry shop that I recommend is 15 minutes away from the hotel and then you can start traveling. The pastry shop is famous for the quantity and quality of cakes it can offer you: you can taste the excellent brigadeiro cake, a Brazilian specialty, which is a reworking of European or American pastry shops.

To reach the hotel which is located in Itaipava opposite the Petrópolis Municipal Park, you will have to travel for about one hour and forty minutes. The Pousada da Vila inn is definitely a different quality than the hotel where you slept the nights before in RJ but it is only for two night. Internet is guaranteed and you are in the center of Petrópolis where you can continue your tour!

You can go out and get your energy back after putting down your suitcases at the inn and having rested for the trip. I recommend you the experience of the Quintal Gastronomico restaurant where the owners open the doors of their luxurious home. In the restaurant you will find a great variation of dishes and also all well cared for. The price is not high for the service that is offered to you. The restaurant is considered a real attraction of the city!

Now your time has come to visit the historic center! You take the car and in 50 minutes you are in the imperial palace of Petrópolis, the former summer palace of Emperor Pedro II, built in 1845. The museum includes: the palace, various pieces of the Brazilian monarchy and the room dedicated to contemporary art. The Museu Imperial de Petrópolis is one of the most visited as well as being voted the best museum in Brazil. In 1822, Emperor Pedro I, traveling to Vila Rica in Minas Gerais, was struck by the climate of the mountainous region. In 1830 Pedro bought the Córrego Seco Estate with the intention of transforming it into the Palace of Concord but after his abdication and his departure for Portugal, the estate was bequeathed to his son, the Emperor Pedro II. He would build his summer residence there. The building was built with the original project of Major Julius Friedrich Koelerv but after his death it was modified by Cristoforo Bonini who added the granite portico to the central body. The work was completed by important architects of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts: Joaquim Cândido Guillobel and José Maria Jacinto Rebelo, with the collaboration of Manuel de Araújo Porto Alegre in the decoration. In 1854, the Emperor also had the gardens surrounding the palace built by the Parisian landscape architect Jean Baptiste Binot. The garden contains around 100 species of trees and flowers, from over 15 regions of the world and French grass. Of particular note the exotic trees surrounding the museum palace you will see Madagascar's banana and frankincense trees. There will be plenty of different flowers such as camellias, jasmine, manacas and the emperor's flowers. The granite pedestals where the busts of mythological figures were placed also three fountains and four fountains. Among these the "Fountain of the Frog" where the inhabitants drew water every day. Inside the museum, you can find pieces related to the Brazilian monarchy including furniture, documents, works of art and personal items of the members of the Imperial Family. In the collection of paintings, you can admire Pedro Américo's "Fala do Trono", which represents Emperor Pedro II at the opening of the General Assembly, and the last portrait of Emperor Pedro I, painted by Simplício Rodrigues de Sá. Inside the library of the Imperial Museum you will see how an important collection of 50.000 volumes is preserved, specializing in History (mainly of Brazil in the imperial era), the history of Petrópolis and Arts in general. The museum also offers you a collection of over 250.000 original documents dating from the 13th to the 20th century: such as the collection of photographs documenting the history and evolution of the urban and landscape aspects of the state of Rio de Janeiro and the city of Petrópolis.

Once you've taken the right amount of time to visit the Museu Imperial de Petrópolis, head to the Catedral de São Pedro de Alcântara on foot in 10 minutes! The building is a church in full French neo-Gothic style where inside is the mausoleum of the Imperial Family (Dom Pedro II, Dona Teresa Cristina, Princess Isabel and Conde D`Eu, her eldest son D. Pedro de Alcântara and his wife D. Elisabeth). In the sculptures you can admire the arts of Magrou and Bertozzi while the various stained glass windows and paintings are by Carlos Oswald. The altar in Gothic art contains the relics of San Magno, Sant'Aurelia and Santa Tecla, which were brought from Rome by Cardinal Sebastião Leme. On October 19, the patron saint chosen for the cathedral is celebrated who is São Pedro de Alcântara, considered the protector of the monarchy and who had been nominated official patron of the Brazilian empire by D. Pedro I. More information and opening hours of the church can be found directly on the site!

You can find your pizzeria within 15 minutes by car to eat something. The place I'm recommending is one of the best pizzerias in Petrópolis where you can accompany your meal with a refreshing cerveja (beer in Portuguese). To help your choice of pizza I have made available the menu taken from the site.

After having dinner, I recommend that you take an evening stroll to admire the Quitandinha Palace which is known as one of the largest palaces in Brazil! The Palácio or Hotel Quitandinha was built in 1941 by the mining entrepreneur Joaquim Rolla, to be the largest hotel and casino in South America. In 2007 the administrative part of the building was acquired for the promotion of the cultural attractions of the place. The hotel was built in 1944 by Joaquim Rolla and Antonnio Faustino with an architectural style that uses Hollywood Rococo on the inside and Norman French on the outside. The interior is made up of 50.000 square meters and it is divided into 6 floors: there are 440 apartments and 13 large halls up to 10 meters high. The Mauá Hall dome is the largest concrete dome in the world, measuring 30m in height and 50m in diameter. The artificially constructed lake was made from the sand of Copacabana Beach. The lake is shaped like a map of Brazil, upside down from the hotel's location. Throughout its history there are several stars and politicians who have passed through its salons. On May 30, 1946, Brazilian President Eurico Gaspar Dutra banned gambling in Brazil and Quitandinha began to struggle to survive as a hotel alone. In 1962 the Quitandinha Palace ceased to function as a hotel and its apartments became a sophisticated and unique condominium in the city of Petrópolis. Today every property of the building belongs to its rightful owner.

It is late and right for you to go back to the hotel to sleep. Tomorrow your last day in Petrópolis awaits you! The inn is only 25 minutes away by car! Tomorrow a new adventure awaits you.