Petrópolis
Brazil
The emperor’s summer town in the mountains above Rio, eight hundred metres up and cooler than the coast
Photo by Samuel Nascimento da Silva on Unsplash
Photos by Carlos de Almeida, Mauro Lima and Eelco Böhtlingk on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Brazil
April to September — the dry winter, with clear days and cold nights
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 311mm in Jan
Where it is
22.51°S, 43.18°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Come up for a winter weekend rather than a day — the drive is an hour each way, and the point is a cool night and a long lunch in Itaipava
- Go round the Museu Imperial early, before the coach groups
- Walk from the cathedral to the Palácio de Cristal and Santos Dumont’s house
- See the great hall of Quitandinha, built as South America’s largest casino hotel
- Hike in the Serra dos Órgãos national park
- Eat and drink your way along the road to Itaipava
Petrópolis travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Brazil
Mid-rangeCards are taken in the museums, restaurants and pousadas. Pix needs a Brazilian bank account, so as a visitor you are on cards and a little cash for the bus and the market stalls. Change money in Rio before you come up.
ATMs & cards
The bank branches are in the centre, around Rua do Imperador. Use machines inside them in daytime; many stop serving foreign cards in the evening.
Avoid these
- standalone machines
- any withdrawal after dark
Use these instead
- Banco do Brasil
- Bradesco
- Itaú
- Santander
Use machines inside branches in the centre, in daylight.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Brazil
SafeA calm town and safe to walk in the centre by day and in the evening. The real risk is the weather: summer storms here are violent, and in early 2022 floods and landslides killed more than two hundred people. In the wet summer, sign up to the Defesa Civil SMS alerts, keep away from hillsides and riverbanks in heavy rain, and do not drive the mountain road in fog or a downpour.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Centro Histórico, Petrópolis — by day and in the evening
- Museu Imperial
- Itaipava
Worth more attention
- BR-040, Petrópolis — the climb from Rio is steep and bendy, and fog and rain close it down
- Riverbanks and steep hillsides during summer storms, when water rises and slopes give way
- Trails in the Serra dos Órgãos, which are steep and cloud over quickly
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Brazil visa rules
No visa neededup to 90 days
Other passports
e-Visa requiredup to 90 days$80
Brazil reintroduced visas for these three nationalities. It is an e-visa applied for online.
Visa required in advance
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Brazil
Good but costlyRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Yellow fever — recommended for most of Brazil including the area around Rio
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
Getting treated
Public emergency care (SUS) is free to everyone including foreigners, but is crowded and slow. Private hospitals in Rio and São Paulo are excellent and expect insurance or payment up front.
Dengue, zika and chikungunya are all present and mosquito-borne — repellent matters. Yellow fever vaccination should be given at least 10 days before arrival.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodMountain food in a Brazilian sense: trout, fondue in winter, German and Italian cooking left by nineteenth-century settlers, and the restaurants and breweries strung along the road to Itaipava, which is where cariocas come to eat at weekends.
Travel tipsGetting around
Limited- UberWorks here
- 99Works here
- inDriveWorks here
- BoltNot here
99 the Brazilian one, often cheaper
- Against a taxi
- Cheaper than a taxi and, in the big cities, the default for everybody.
Some favela and periphery addresses will not be accepted by drivers at night; that is a driver safety decision, not a fare one.
Time zone and your working day
America/Sao Paulo — 1 hour ahead of you
7 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–16:00 your time, 10:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 08:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 08:00–16:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Brazil, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Portuguese (Brazilian)
- HelloOi / Oláoy / o-LA
- PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
- Thank youObrigado / Obrigadao-bree-GA-doo / -da
- Yes / NoSim / Nãoseeng / nowng
4 more phrases
- Excuse meCom licençakong lee-SEN-sa
- How much is it?Quanto custa?KWAN-too KOOS-ta
- The bill, pleaseA conta, por favora KON-ta
- Cheers!Saúde!sa-OO-djee
Softer and more open than European Portuguese, and the de sounds like "dje".
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic and Evangelical
The largest Catholic population in the world, with a fast-growing Evangelical share and Afro-Brazilian traditions such as Candomblé and Umbanda practised alongside.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with a kiss on each cheek between women, or a woman and a man; a handshake between men
- Expect physical closeness in conversation — standing back reads as cold
- Arrive late to social invitations; on time is genuinely early
- Learn a few words of Portuguese, and never open in Spanish
Don't
- Do not make the OK sign with finger and thumb — it is obscene here
- Do not walk with a phone visible in the street
- Do not wear obvious jewellery or watches on the beach or in the city
- Do not call Brazilians Hispanic or assume they speak Spanish
Where to stay in Petrópolis
No Holistay rentals in Petrópolis yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Petrópolis on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Rio de Janeiro Galeão GIG
1hfrom the airport· 34 km as the crow flies
About an hour by car up the mountain road, longer in Friday traffic.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
