AnnaPorto Alegre is the last city we visited in Brazil. Since the only thing that it’s famous for is to be the most popular getaway to Uruguay, I thought we would see an ugly industrial or port city with not much going on. Instead, I found the city that charmed me so much that it’s where I’d live if I ever moved to Brazil!
What is so awesome in Porto Alegre?
The streets are wide leaving a lot of room for pavements which are framed by “hairy” trees (there’s some kind of running plant on the trunks) with violet flowers. The downtown has cute, classicist style buildings, walking streets, free museums and an expensive market with nice antipasti.
The city is the capital of Rio Grande do Sul region which used to be part of the Spanish Kingdom back in the colonial times. There are gaúchos (countryside people, like pastors) here too, like in Argentina, and mate tea is slurped from traditional cups through a metal straw. (I expect to get a glimpse into the art of mate in Uruguay and Argentina, so keep your eyes peeled for our next posts, sign up to follow us!)
We visited the free Rio Grande do Sul Art Museum. At the Landscape and Memories exhibition we bumped into a pretty painting of an artist from the beginning of the 20th century named Alberto Da Veiga Guignard. (It was the third time we saw a painting by him, so I thought I’d share the one we saw in this museum.)
What is your favourite city in the world, and why? Answer simply in the comments section below!
It’s always nice to be surprised when you arrive somewhere new isn’t it? Porto Alegre looks like it’s got some pretty cool architecture, kind of reminds me a bit of Barcelona from your pictures
Porto Alegre would probably love to get the hype Barcelona enjoys – although it has a charm of its own by not being on the tourist path. Somehow it feels like a much more liveable place than the Catalan city. Thanks for popping by!
Hopefully I get to visit Porto Alegre soon. Seems like a beautiful place.
It really is, beautiful and fascinating. Thanks for your visit, Ronald!