Belo Horizonte

Brazil Updated Oct 2026

At sunset, the ridges of the Serra do Curral hold the last light above Belo Horizonte, Brazil, while cold beer arrives in little 190-milliliter glasses. This inland capital has no beach; its answer is a table at the boteco, a long meal, and conversation that keeps going.

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Belo Horizonte, Brazil Photo: Gabriel Ramos / Pexels
Attractions
8
Trip length
3–5 days
Best season
Dry season (May–September)

Why Belo Horizonte

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Belo Horizonte’s modernist story takes shape around Pampulha Lake, where Oscar Niemeyer, landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, and artist Candido Portinari collaborated on buildings designed in 1940. The curved concrete church and Portinari’s blue-and-white tiles still feel daring against the water; UNESCO recognized the ensemble in 2016.

Food here is part of the city’s everyday architecture. At Mercado Central, founded in 1929, more than 400 stalls crowd around Minas cheeses, cachaça, and boteco counters serving sizzling beef liver with bitter jiló.

In Santa Tereza, the Clube da Esquina musicians shaped a sound that blended Brazilian popular music, jazz, and rock in the 1960s and 1970s. The city’s monuments may draw your eye upward, but its music and meals keep pulling your chair toward the table.

  • Pampulha’s modernist experiment

    Oscar Niemeyer’s 1940s buildings circle an 18 km artificial lake, where Roberto Burle Marx shaped the gardens and Candido Portinari covered the São Francisco church with blue-and-white tiles. UNESCO added the ensemble to its World Heritage List in 2016; cycling between the buildings makes their different curves easier to read.

  • Museums around Praça da Liberdade

    Former government offices now hold the CCBB, Memorial Minas Gerais Vale and MM Gerdau, each taking a different route through art, regional memory and mining. Start beneath the royal palms, then duck inside when the afternoon heat gathers.

  • A city made for the boteco

    Belo Horizonte’s bar culture spills onto the second-floor veranda of Edifício Maletta, above old bookstores and record shops. In Santa Tereza, the music history runs deeper: the neighborhood is closely tied to Clube da Esquina.

  • The Serra at the city’s edge

    The Serra do Curral rises behind the neighborhoods, giving the city its jagged southern edge and a place to look back from. At sunset, Praça do Papa frames the rooftops below; nearby Parque das Mangabeiras brings trails, native woodland and the calls of marmosets.

Places to Visit

Not every monument, just the ones we'd walk you past ourselves.

All 44 places in Belo Horizonte

Neighborhoods

Where to wander, by quarter — each with its own rhythm.

  • Pampulha

    The 18-kilometer lake circuit links Niemeyer’s UNESCO-listed modernist buildings, including the blue-tiled Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, the circular Casa do Baile, and the former casino that became the Pampulha Art Museum. Come for the architecture, then linger by the water as the light fades.

  • Centro

    Belo Horizonte’s center is made for browsing: Mercado Central packs its aisles with cheese, sweets, and busy food counters, while the Mercado Novo draws evening crowds to its upper-floor bars. At Edifício Maletta, used-book and record shops sit below a balcony lined with bars.

  • Praça da Liberdade and Funcionários

    Royal palms frame Praça da Liberdade, once the seat of Minas Gerais government and now the heart of Circuito Liberdade. Former government buildings hold the CCBB, the Memorial Minas Gerais Vale, and the mineral-focused MM Gerdau, while the curving Edifício Niemeyer faces the square.

  • Savassi

    Bookshops, bakeries, cafés, and bars give Savassi its day-to-night rhythm. Stop for specialty coffee or pão de queijo, then settle in for dinner or a drink.

  • Santa Tereza

    This bohemian neighborhood is closely tied to the Clube da Esquina, whose musicians gathered at the corner of Rua Divinópolis and Rua Paraisópolis. Bar do Orlando, open since 1919, keeps the older bar tradition alive with street-side choro, samba, and forró.

  • Lourdes

    Lourdes is the address for destination dining, from Glouton’s Minas ingredients shaped by French technique to restaurants focused on backyard cooking and local produce. Wine bars and cocktail spots make the neighborhood a natural choice for a slower evening.

  • Mangabeiras

    At the foot of the Serra do Curral, Mangabeiras trades city blocks for wooded slopes, lookout decks, and wide views over Belo Horizonte. Parque das Mangabeiras is home to native wildlife, while nearby Praça do Papa is a favorite place to watch the sun set.

Plan your trip

Before you go

Getting There
As of 2026, most flights use Tancredo Neves International Airport, or Confins (CNF), about 40 km north; Pampulha Airport (PLU) handles regional and executive aviation. Conexão Aeroporto buses run to Rodoviária de Belo Horizonte and to Avenida Álvares Cabral; expect roughly R$25–30 for the conventional service and R$36–50 for the executive coach, and confirm fares before travel. The downtown Estação Central serves Metrô BH and the Vitória–Minas passenger train; road links include BR-040, BR-381, BR-262 and MG-010.
Getting Around
In 2026, Metrô BH has one line and 19 stations, from Vilarinho to Eldorado, with Estação Central at the downtown end; MOVE BRT and municipal buses cover corridors the rail line misses. The BHBUS card works on municipal buses and integrated metro journeys, with transfer discounts within 90 minutes; metropolitan buses use the ÓTIMO card. For a flat ride, the 18 km Pampulha lakeside cycle track links Niemeyer’s landmarks, and Tembici bike-share rentals are booked by app.
Climate & Best Time
Typical highs and lows run about 25–28°C and 15–18°C in spring, 27–29°C and 18–20°C in summer, 24–28°C and 14–18°C in autumn, and 24–26°C and 12–14°C in winter. Rain falls most heavily from November through March, often in afternoon showers; May to September is drier, with cool evenings and the clearest conditions for Pampulha and day trips. That dry stretch is the most convenient outdoor season, while the wet months tend to be quieter.
Language & Currency
Brazilian Portuguese is the everyday language, and English is less common beyond major hotels and museum desks; a translation app helps with menus and bus stops. The currency is the Brazilian real (BRL, R$), and contactless Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted; restaurants commonly add a 10% service charge.
Safety
Keep your phone out of sight near roads and in busy central areas, where snatch theft can happen; downtown around the Rodoviária and Praça da Estação is quieter after about 20:00. Use a rideshare between neighborhoods late at night, and call Brazil’s Military Police at 190 for emergencies.

A Capital Built to Break with the Past

From a mining-era farming village to a modernist city

  1. c. 1701

    Curral del-Rei Takes Root

    Local historical accounts trace the settlement to João Leite da Silva Ortiz and his Fazenda do Cercado, established near the Serra do Curral around 1701. Cattle, crops, and timber from the area supplied the gold-mining towns; the planned capital came much later.

  2. 1890

    A New Name for the Village

    On April 12, a state decree renamed the district Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem do Curral del-Rei as Belo Horizonte. The change arrived as republican leaders reconsidered Minas Gerais’s colonial-era capital, Ouro Preto.

  3. 1893

    Chosen for a New Capital

    Minas Gerais selected Curral del-Rei as the site of its new capital, ahead of competing towns including Juiz de Fora and Barbacena. The decision promised room to build a city by design rather than squeeze government offices into Ouro Preto’s steep ravines.

  4. 1894

    Aarão Reis Draws the City

    Engineer and planner Aarão Reis led the commission charged with turning the capital project into streets, lots, and public works. His layout paired a regular grid with broad diagonal avenues, all contained within Avenida do Contorno.

  5. 1895

    Palace Foundations Laid

    The cornerstone of the Palácio da Liberdade was laid on September 7, anchoring the new seat of Minas Gerais’s government. Around Praça da Liberdade, avenues of royal palms and administrative buildings began to give the capital its formal, almost theatrical center.

  6. 1897

    The Capital Opens Its Doors

    Belo Horizonte was inaugurated on December 12 as the capital of Minas Gerais, temporarily named Cidade de Minas. The opening was meant to announce a new republican order, though construction lagged behind the plans and many residents arrived to find a city still taking shape.

Show the full timeline (27 moments)
  1. 1898

    Government Moves In

    The Palácio da Liberdade opened as the seat of the state executive. Its ceremonious rooms and formal gardens gave the young capital a government address quite unlike the modest village it had replaced.

  2. 1901

    Belo Horizonte Returns

    The city’s original chosen name replaced Cidade de Minas. The return to Belo Horizonte closed a brief naming experiment and made the view toward the Serra do Curral part of the capital’s public identity.

  3. 1920

    Drummond Finds His City

    Carlos Drummond de Andrade moved to Belo Horizonte as a young man, beginning the long connection that fed his poetry and journalism. He studied pharmacy, worked for local newspapers, and joined the literary circles that met around cafés and the Viaduto Santa Tereza.

  4. 1927

    A University Takes Shape

    The Universidade de Minas Gerais was founded, bringing together higher-education schools in the capital. Its classrooms would help draw writers, physicians, and public thinkers into the city, including future novelist João Guimarães Rosa.

  5. 1930

    Guimarães Rosa Graduates

    João Guimarães Rosa completed his medical studies in Belo Horizonte, where he had moved as a young man from Cordisburgo. The city’s medical faculty gave him a profession; his later fiction would carry the speech and distances of the Minas Gerais interior far beyond the state.

  6. 1940

    Kubitschek Commissions Modernism

    As mayor, Juscelino Kubitschek set out to make Belo Horizonte look toward the future and commissioned a new group of buildings at Pampulha. The project brought together architect Oscar Niemeyer, landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, and artist Cândido Portinari.

  7. 1940

    Pampulha Reimagines Concrete

    Construction began around the new Pampulha reservoir, where Niemeyer’s curved forms rejected the rigid boxes then common in modern architecture. The commission treated a church, casino, dance pavilion, and yacht club as parts of one composition beside the water.

  8. 1943

    Pampulha’s Curves Appear

    The main Pampulha buildings were completed, including the parabolic São Francisco de Assis church, whose blue-and-white Portinari tiles catch the light over the lake. Religious use of the church was delayed until 1959, after years of resistance to its daring design.

  9. 1947

    Dilma Rousseff Is Born

    Dilma Rousseff was born in Belo Horizonte and later studied at the city’s Colégio Estadual Central and the Faculty of Economic Sciences at UFMG. As a student under military rule, she joined resistance groups and was imprisoned and tortured by the dictatorship.

  10. 1950

    The World Cup Comes to Independência

    Belo Horizonte hosted matches at Estádio Independência during the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The ground became part of football folklore when the United States defeated England 1–0 there on June 29.

  11. 1963

    Milton Nascimento Arrives

    Singer and songwriter Milton Nascimento moved to Belo Horizonte, where he met the Borges brothers and other musicians who would form the Clube da Esquina circle. Their music grew from friendship and neighborhood life, with Santa Tereza’s street corner lending the group its name.

  12. 1964

    Minas Backs the Coup

    On March 31, General Olímpio Mourão Filho’s troops set out from Juiz de Fora, while Governor José de Magalhães Pinto’s government in Belo Horizonte supported the revolt against President João Goulart. The military takeover began in Minas Gerais and ended Brazil’s democratic government, ushering in two decades of dictatorship.

  13. 1965

    Mineirão Opens Its Gates

    Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto, known as Mineirão, opened on September 5. Its vast concrete bowl gave Belo Horizonte a new stage for football and a landmark built for crowds measured in tens of thousands.

  14. 1972

    Clube da Esquina Takes Flight

    Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, and their collaborators released the double album Clube da Esquina, joining Brazilian song with rock, jazz, and choral textures. Made under dictatorship, its wide-ranging sound carried the intimacy of Belo Horizonte’s streets into a national conversation.

  15. 1984

    Crowds Demand Direct Elections

    Belo Horizonte joined the Diretas Já campaign, whose mass demonstrations called for Brazilians to elect their president directly. The demand was not granted at once, but the movement helped make the return to civilian rule impossible to treat as a private bargain among generals and politicians.

  16. 1993

    Food Policy Becomes City Policy

    Belo Horizonte began a municipal food-security program built around public markets, subsidized meals, and better access to fresh food. The approach placed ordinary questions—what a family can afford, and where it can buy it—at the center of city government.

  17. 2010

    Praça da Liberdade Reopens Differently

    The Circuito Liberdade brought cultural institutions into former state-secretariat buildings around Praça da Liberdade. Offices once built to administer Minas Gerais began hosting museums and exhibitions, changing the square’s daily traffic from government business to public culture.

  18. 2014

    An Overpass Falls Mid-Construction

    On July 3, the under-construction Batalha dos Guararapes overpass collapsed on Avenida Pedro I, killing two people and injuring 23. The failure, days before Belo Horizonte hosted World Cup matches, turned a public-works project into a stark test of oversight and accountability.

  19. 2014

    Mineirão Witnesses the 7–1

    On July 8, Mineirão hosted the World Cup semifinal in which Germany beat Brazil 7–1. The score stunned the country, and the stadium became inseparable from a night when football’s most familiar certainties gave way in a matter of minutes.

  20. 2016

    Pampulha Enters the World Heritage List

    UNESCO inscribed the Pampulha Modern Ensemble as a World Heritage Site on July 17. The designation recognized the lakeside group as an architectural work of art—and fixed Belo Horizonte’s mid-century experiment in concrete and curves firmly on the world map.

  21. 2020

    Record Rains Overwhelm the City

    January brought more than 935 millimeters of rain to Belo Horizonte, the highest monthly total in the city’s recorded history. Floodwaters and hillside collapses damaged homes and streets, exposing the cost of building over waterways and onto steep slopes.

Who lived here

  • Politician and president · 1902–1976

    Juscelino Kubitschek

    Mayor of Belo Horizonte, 1940–1945; commissioned the Pampulha ensemble

    As mayor from 1940 to 1945, Juscelino Kubitschek invited Oscar Niemeyer and his collaborators to give Pampulha a new architectural language. Walk the lake today and you can still sense the gamble: buildings meant to make a young capital look toward the future.

  • Poet · 1902–1987

    Carlos Drummond de Andrade

    Lived and studied in Belo Horizonte; worked as a journalist there

    Drummond moved to Belo Horizonte in 1920, studied pharmacy and joined the city’s modernist literary circles. He later wrote “Triste Horizonte”; he might recognize the planned avenues today, but still have a sharp word for what their growth has erased.

  • Writer and journalist · 1923–2004

    Fernando Sabino

    Born and raised in Belo Horizonte

    Sabino grew up in Belo Horizonte, and the city’s streets and youthful circles became the setting for his novel O Encontro Marcado. A walk around Praça da Liberdade still brings you close to his story: bronze statues there commemorate the circle of writer friends he belonged to.

  • Singer-songwriter · born 1942

    Milton Nascimento

    Moved to Belo Horizonte in 1963; helped form Clube da Esquina in Santa Tereza

    After moving to Belo Horizonte in 1963, Milton Nascimento met the Borges brothers and helped shape Clube da Esquina, a musical movement rooted in Santa Tereza. The neighborhood’s corner still carries the pull of that story; he might hear its echo in the city’s newer musicians.

  • Singer-songwriter and guitarist · born 1952

    Lô Borges

    Born and raised in Belo Horizonte; co-created Clube da Esquina

    Growing up in Santa Tereza, Lô Borges met Milton Nascimento and became a co-creator of Clube da Esquina, including its landmark 1972 album. The movement began with friends and music at a neighborhood corner, not a grand venue—a detail that still suits Belo Horizonte.

  • Politician and former president of Brazil · born 1947

    Dilma Rousseff

    Born, raised and educated in Belo Horizonte

    Rousseff grew up in Belo Horizonte, attended Colégio Estadual Central and studied economics at UFMG, where she joined resistance movements against the military dictatorship. The city was both her classroom and a proving ground; its universities still sit close to the political arguments that shape public life.

Where to Eat

Where locals actually book dinner — not the tourist menus.

Insider tips

Small things that change how the city treats you.

  • Keep Phones Tucked

    Keep your phone out of sight near roads, where snatch thefts can happen. After dark, use a ride-hailing app between distant neighborhoods instead of walking through quiet downtown streets.

  • Compare Airport Transfers

    Confins Airport is about 40 km from the center. The Conexão Aeroporto coach takes roughly 50–70 minutes; check current fares before choosing it over a taxi or ride-hailing.

  • Start At Liberdade

    Several Circuito Liberdade museums, including CCBB BH, Memorial Minas Gerais Vale and MM Gerdau, have free admission. Palácio da Liberdade requires an online time-slot reservation.

  • Choose Dry Months

    May through September brings drier weather, warm days and cooler evenings—handy for the Pampulha lakefront and outdoor walks. November through March is wetter, with frequent afternoon downpours.

  • Use BHBUS Transfers

    A BHBUS card can give you discounted transfers between municipal buses and integrated metro stations within a 90-minute window. Check the BHBUS+ app for card recharges and QR-code boarding options.

  • Check The Service Fee

    Restaurants and bars commonly add a 10% service charge to the bill. Extra tipping isn’t required, though you can round up or leave more for especially good service.

  • Shop Sunday Morning

    Feira Hippie, the craft market on Avenida Afonso Pena, runs on Sunday mornings and has free entry. Go then for local crafts, clothing and regional food products.

Frequently asked

Is Belo Horizonte worth visiting?

Yes, especially if you like modernist architecture, museums and a city with a strong bar culture. Pampulha’s UNESCO-listed buildings and the museums around Praça da Liberdade give you two very different ways to read the city.

How many days should I spend in Belo Horizonte?

Plan on 3–5 days for the main city sights. That leaves time for the Pampulha complex, Praça da Liberdade’s museums and an evening in neighborhoods such as Santa Tereza or Savassi.

How do I get around Belo Horizonte?

Use the metro and buses for many trips; the metro’s single line runs between Vilarinho and Eldorado, with Estação Central in downtown. Hills make some walks demanding, and ride-hailing is a practical option after dark or for trips between distant neighborhoods.

Is Belo Horizonte safe for visitors?

Use the same precautions you would in a large city: keep your phone tucked away near roads and avoid walking through quiet downtown streets late at night. Take a ride-hailing car after dark, and visit informal settlements only with a local community guide.

Is Belo Horizonte expensive to visit?

You can keep costs down: several museums around Praça da Liberdade are free, and Pampulha’s landmarks can be viewed from outside without an admission fee. Airport transfers and frequent ride-hailing add up, so compare options and check current fares.

All Places to Visit.

44 places to discover

Praça Da Liberdade
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Praça Da Liberdade

Praça Sete De Setembro
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Praça Sete De Setembro

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Mirante Do Mangabeiras

Mangabeiras Park
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Mangabeiras Park

Praça Diogo De Vasconcelos
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Praça Diogo De Vasconcelos

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Lagoinha Church

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Church of Saint Francis of Assisi

Pampulha Art Museum
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Pampulha Art Museum

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Inconfidência Palace

Mineirão
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Mineirão

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Mirante Três Pedras

Federal University of Minas Gerais
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Federal University of Minas Gerais

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Parque Mata Das Borboletas

Palácio Das Mangabeiras (Corrigir Foto)
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Palácio Das Mangabeiras (Corrigir Foto)

Pontifícia Universidade Católica De Minas Gerais
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Pontifícia Universidade Católica De Minas Gerais

Estádio Independência
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Estádio Independência

Centro Cultural Banco Do Brasil
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Centro Cultural Banco Do Brasil

State University of Minas Gerais
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State University of Minas Gerais

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Gibiteca Antonio Gobbo

Arena Mrv
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Arena Mrv

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President Tancredo Neves Administrative City

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Conjunto Governador Kubitschek

Palácio Das Artes
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Palácio Das Artes

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Niemeyer Building

Juscelino Kubitschek Arena
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Juscelino Kubitschek Arena

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Imprensa Oficial Do Estado De Minas Gerais

Praça Rui Barbosa
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Praça Rui Barbosa

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Belo Horizonte Circuit

Marista Hall
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Marista Hall

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Catedral De Nossa Senhora Da Boa Viagem (Belo Horizonte)

Palácio Da Liberdade
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Palácio Da Liberdade

Casa Fiat De Cultura
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Casa Fiat De Cultura

Arquivo Público Mineiro
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Arquivo Público Mineiro

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Avenida Assis Chateaubriand

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Avenida Augusto De Lima

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Avenida João Pinheiro

Avenida Presidente Antônio Carlos
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Avenida Presidente Antônio Carlos

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Avenida Professor Alfredo Balena

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Centro Universitário De Belo Horizonte

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Deusa Das Águas

Lake Pampulha
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Lake Pampulha

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Mãe Mineira

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Universidade Fundação Mineira De Educação E Cultura

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Vilarinho Station

Photo credits (4)
  1. Gabriel Ramos — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/16550637/
  2. Ramzi Belaidi — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/19576818/
  3. Jerson Martins — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/35599886/
  4. Luiz Felipe — Pexels License (https://www.pexels.com/license/) — Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/8078136/

Photos may have been resized or cropped.