🇧🇷 Brazil

Brazil's most iconic coastal city, famous for Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain and the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. Stunning, but with clear no-go zones, so choosing the right neighbourhood matters. My favourite city in Brazil.

A pretty, upscale beach town about 2.5–3 hours east of Rio, hugely popular with Argentinian, Uruguayan and Chilean holidaymakers. Good for a day trip or long weekend from Rio.

Brazil's biggest city and main international gateway — vast and business-focused, but better than its reputation if you lower expectations, with great food, museums and an excellent metro.

A high-altitude, Alpine-themed resort town about 3 hours from São Paulo, known for Swiss/German-style architecture, cheese fondue and a chilly, Christmassy feel.

The self-styled 'bar capital of Brazil', with a polished café and bar scene, the best market I found in the country, and the natural base for exploring the colonial towns of Minas Gerais.

A UNESCO World Heritage gold-rush town that may be the most beautiful city in South America, with Baroque churches, steep cobbled streets and deep history.

A beautifully preserved colonial gold-rush town popular with Brazilians but almost unknown to foreigners — my most family-friendly Brazilian town, full of cobbled streets, cafés and bars.

A busy colonial-era transport hub next to Tiradentes. I ranked it last of 20 Brazilian cities, but it's useful for cheaper accommodation and the historic steam train.

A stunning, little-visited colonial diamond-mining town and possibly Brazil's best hidden gem — friendly locals, university-town energy and the unique Vesperata music event. My favourite Minas Gerais town.

Brazil's first capital and its most African city, famed for colonial architecture, Afro-Brazilian culture and what I rate the best food in Brazil. It has a reputation for danger but felt safe in the tourist areas. My second-favourite city in Brazil.

A car-free village on Tinharé Island, reached by catamaran from Salvador, with beautiful beaches, warm water, good nightlife and boat trips to Boipeba.

My pick for Brazil's best beach city — modern, affordable, with crystal-blue water and almost no Western tourists. Nearby Praia de Ipioca is my favourite beach in over 40 countries.

A safe, family- and couple-friendly beach town an hour from Recife with calm turquoise water — best as a relaxed short beach break rather than a nightlife spot.

Recife is a big, culturally rich city — 'a mini São Paulo by the beach' — with weekend nightlife but shark-prone beaches. Neighbouring colonial Olinda hosts what many Brazilians call the country's best Carnival.

A relaxed, modern coastal city popular with Brazilian retirees and digital nomads — safer and calmer than Natal, with good beaches and low costs, but little of Brazil's stereotypical buzz.

A popular family holiday city in Brazil's northeastern corner. I found it underwhelming and rough outside the main tourist area, but it's one of the cheapest big cities in Brazil.

One of my favourite places in Brazil — a small, affordable and very safe beach village about 85 km south of Natal, with dolphins, great food and a lively nightlife strip.

One of Brazil's biggest and statistically most dangerous cities, but the beachfront neighbourhoods felt calm and pleasant. It has Brazil's best promenade and is the gateway to Jericoacoara.

A famous beach village built entirely on sand inside a national park, reachable only by transfer and known for windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Possibly the most impressive sand dunes in the world, dotted with rainwater lagoons, visited on guided tours from the gateway town of Barreirinhas. I rate it one of Brazil's top sights.

A historic colonial town in Goiás surrounded by waterfalls, 2–3 hours from Brasília and well off the radar for international visitors.

Brazil's planned modernist capital, built in under four years and inaugurated in April 1960. Quirky and unlike anywhere else, but one of my least favourite places in Brazil.

Brazil's 10th-largest city, often called its most liveable. Modern, hot and one of the safest big cities I've been to — but quiet, with very little to do, and surprisingly expensive.

A small town in Goiás home to Hot Park, South America's most famous thermal water park, with pools, slides and an artificial beach all heated by natural hot springs.

One of Brazil's least-visited state capitals, usually just a gateway to Bonito, but home to the world's largest freshwater aquarium.

Brazil's ecotourism capital — a small, safe town near the Paraguay and Bolivia borders built around crystal-clear rivers, caves and lakes.

The Brazilian base for Iguaçu Falls — quiet but generally safe, with easy Uber access to the falls and straightforward crossings to Argentina and Paraguay at the Triple Frontier.