The metropolis with a romantic and sweet-hearing name Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon) is one of the largest cities in the South American state of Brazil. Its area, which housed almost 2.5 million inhabitants, is 330.954 square meters. m. This is a multinational city: here you can meet Italians, Portuguese, Germans, Spaniards. It is the administrative center of the state of Minas Gerais, which is located in the southeast of the state.
Features of the construction of the city
The construction of Belo Horizonte began systematically in a completely undeveloped area. If you compare the cities of Brazil, the capital of Minas Gerais is the second major center, which was built according to plan. The first was the city of Teresina. What is the difference between this method and the traditional one? As a rule, the terms are quite limited (2-3 years) and both the state and investors, most often large corporations, participate in the design. Basically they are erected for certain narrowly targeted purposes.
Belo Horizonte was designed in 1897 and built on the site of a small ancient settlement. Thanks to the plan, everything in the city was planned in advance. This made it possible to create quadrangular quarters with straight streets and roads. If you look from a bird's eye view, such an ordering immediately becomes noticeable.
Geographical location and climate
Belo Horizonte lies on the hills of the Atlantic Plateau and is surrounded by mountains. As for the climate, it is unique here. It is in this region that the border of oceanic subtropics and tropics passes. It will be useful for tourists to find out what temperature is kept in the city for a calendar year. This information is very useful for people who plan to spend a vacation in these places.
So, the winters here are rather dry and warm. The temperature can exceed even +30 ° (average in January is +28 ° ). The summer season is also quite hot, but more rain falls. Air temperature may drop to +18 ° C. By the way, if you take into account the reviews about Belo Horizonte, then the heat is not acutely felt here, there is absolutely no stuffiness that you can often encounter in Russia. Many tourists claim that there are quite comfortable conditions for a person.
Economy
For the city’s economy, services are the main area. Thanks to them, 80% of the local budget is filled. Well-developed engineering, biotechnology, business tourism, fashion, ferrous metallurgy, the chemical industry and pharmacology, as well as furniture production. However, many cities in Brazil are developing thanks to these areas.
Not the last place is occupied by information technology. For example, the headquarters of the Brazilian representative office of Google is located here, and not in the capital of the state, as one might assume.
Transport
Shuttle taxis and buses run in the city, and there is an underground metro line. Domestic flights are accepted by the local airport. For international flights, another 30 km has been built. It is the most beautiful and equipped airport in South America.
Culture
In Belo Horizonte (Brazil), there is the famous Palacio Das Artes concert complex, which includes a cinema hall, theaters, a library, art galleries and a cultural research center. In the halls of the palace are popular shows, concerts of contemporary artists of various genres, presentations, ballet and opera performances, conferences, seminars. Several popular Brazilian pop and rock bands were founded in the city, which are now successfully performing even outside the state.
sights
The metropolis is relatively young, so there are not many attractions that preserve history. Tourists admire nature reserves and parks, striking diversity and beauty. The most famous and remarkable are the Mangabeiras Park, the Botanical Garden and the zoo.
In the first, there are plants and animals natural for this area. Even in this heavenly place you can find tall anthills and wonderful exotic birds. Every week on Sundays, open-air performances are held here. There is public transport to the park from Belo Horizonte, which is why it is a favorite place for both local "Aborigines" and tourists. The latter are happy to arrange picnics, outdoor games and other various entertainments here.
Another popular holiday destination from city everyday life was the zoo. Today it is part of a huge botanical reserve and with its originality attracts a huge number of visitors. This scenic spot is also suitable for golfing. Remarkable in its sophistication, the Japanese garden is also located on the territory of the zoo. Here you can observe representatives of various classes and species of animals: birds, reptiles and mammals. At the moment, there are more than 250 exhibits in it. This is not only the home of birds and animals and just a great place, but also the "green lungs" of the city of Belo Horizonte.
In addition, not very far from the metropolis there are several mysterious grottoes with petroglyphs, crystalline formations and interesting prehistoric paintings. In the southwest is the man-made lagoon of Pampulia, which, in turn, is surrounded by the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, the campus of the Federal University and the Mineyrao Stadium. The Freedom Palace, museums of the history of Abilio Bareto and Mineralogy may also be of interest to visitors here.
Unusual bizarre architecture, unique distinctive culture, a variety of natural and man-made sights make Belo Horizonte very desirable and attractive for tourists.