This guide is for you if you have half a day in Belo Horizonte and want to see the city's market and Niemeyer's buildings at Pampulha. The two choices that shape the visit are the day of the week and whether you start at 07:00 or 13:00. Here is how to make them, and what to expect at each stop.
Pick the day of the week first
The places on this tour keep different hours, and they do not line up on every day. Published opening times we found, which can change, are these:
- Mercado Central: Monday to Saturday from 8am to 6pm, and Sunday from 8am to 1pm.
- Igreja de São Francisco de Assis: Tuesday to Thursday, 8am to 11am and 1pm to 5pm; Friday, 8am to 11am and 1pm to 4.30pm. No visiting hours are listed for Monday or the weekend.
- Casa do Baile: Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
So Wednesday to Friday is the easiest time to find everything open. On a Monday or at the weekend you may see the church only from outside, and on a Monday or a Tuesday the Casa do Baile is likely to be shut. We check the opening days for your date when you book, but if seeing inside Niemeyer's church is the reason you are coming, choose a midweek day.
The art museum by the lake has been closed for renovation, though its front gardens stay open. You can still see the building from the water's edge and across the lake. Check the official sites before you go, because these hours and closures change.
Morning or afternoon
You choose a 07:00 or a 13:00 pick-up. The order is the same either way: about half an hour to Praça da Liberdade, then the Mercado Central, then the church at Pampulha, then the Casa do Baile and the lake, and back where you want to be four hours after you started.
Set that against the opening hours and a few things follow.
- A morning start reaches the market soon after it opens at 8am. The church visit falls in its morning hours on the days it opens. You reach the Casa do Baile a little before its 10am opening, so tell your driver if you want to go inside, and the order can shift.
- An afternoon start catches the church in its afternoon hours and the Casa do Baile when it is open. On a Sunday it does not work for the market, which closes at 1pm.
The morning is also the natural choice if you fly out of Confins that day, because the tour can end at the airport. Tell us when you book.
What you see, stop by stop
Praça da Liberdade
The old seat of the state government is now the Circuito Cultural Praça da Liberdade, a group of museums and cultural centres around the square. Several have free entry, among them the Espaço do Conhecimento UFMG, the CCBB, the Palácio da Liberdade, the MM Gerdau Museu das Minas e do Metal, Casa Fiat de Cultura and the Museu Mineiro. Their hours vary, so check before you plan to go in. On this tour the square is a short first stop.
Mercado Central
This is the place to taste Minas Gerais: local cooking, cheeses, cachaças and handicrafts. Food is not included, so bring money or a card and an appetite. If you want to carry cheese or cachaça home, buy it here and leave it in the car.
The Pampulha Modern Ensemble
The ensemble was created in 1940 around an artificial lake. Oscar Niemeyer designed the buildings, working with the engineer Joaquim Cardozo, the artist Cândido Portinari and the landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx. It has four main buildings: the casino, which became the Pampulha art museum; the ballroom, now the Casa do Baile, a reference centre for architecture, urbanism and design; the yacht club, now a tennis club; and the church of São Francisco de Assis, which is still in use. UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 2016.
The Casa do Baile opened in 1940 as a dance restaurant and has been an architecture and urbanism centre since 2002. UNESCO notes that pollution of the lake is still a problem, so this is a place for looking, not for getting in the water.
The church entrance is not included; you pay it on the day. The Mineirão stadium is next to the lake, and if you want to stop there, tell your driver.
On your own, or with a driver
Each of these places can be reached on your own, and the market is in the Centro. Pampulha is the hard part: the buildings are spread around the shore of the lake, and going from one to the next takes time without a car. Four hours with a driver lets you see the centre and the lake in one go and end where you choose, at your hotel, a restaurant or the airport. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to bring
- Money or a card for food at the market and the church entrance.
- Sun cream and a hat for the walk by the lake.
- Comfortable shoes. There is a fair amount of standing and walking at each stop.
- A bag for anything you buy at the market.
Who it suits
It suits a first day in the city, a couple of free hours before a flight from Confins, or anyone interested in modern architecture. Four hours is a manageable length for children. If anyone in your group has limited mobility, tell us when you book. Groups of more than 16 travel in two vehicles on one booking; message us with your numbers.
If you have more time in Minas Gerais, our guide to day trips from Belo Horizonte compares the longer days, from Ouro Preto and Mariana to Inhotim.
Questions people ask
Can we go inside the art museum?
Not while it is closed for renovation; its front gardens stay open. Check the museum's official site to see whether it has reopened for your date.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. The details are on our cancellation page.
Booking the half day
Choose a midweek date if the church matters to you, and pick the morning or the afternoon with the market and the Casa do Baile in mind. Then book the Belo Horizonte private city tour with Pampulha and the Mercado Central, choose the size of your group, and tell us if you want to end at the airport.
