Paranagua

Most of Brazil's coffee and soybeans are shipped out of Paranaguá, the nation's second-largest port, which also serves as chief port for landlocked Paraguay. Downtown holds many examples of colonial architecture and has been designated an official historic area. The city, founded in 1565 by Portuguese explorers, is 30 km (18 miles) from the Atlantic on the Baía de Paranaguá. The bay area is surrounded by the Mata Atlântica, of which a great swathe on the northern side is protected; several islands in the bay also have rain forests as well as great beaches. You'll find other less scenic but popular sandy stretches farther south, toward the Santa Catarina border.