I will be in Rio early next month on a group tour. I will have limited time on my own so I am trying to decide which tours I want to take. I thought I might go to Petropolis, but if its just a bunch of old buildings I probably wouldn't be interested unless the surrounding scenery was really spectacular. Can someone give me some fieldback on Petropolis?

I have been in Petropolis ages ago. If I remember right it was the Capital during the reign of the Emperador , what was his name, Pedro? The road is a winding one and very nice, but in retrospect I think I would stay in Rio making sure I use well my time there because Rio is a beautiful city. Many things to do there.

I do not if it feasable but I rather visit Para Ti any time.

petroplis is lovely and a refreshing change from the heat & humidity of the beach.
but, i'd visit Jardim Botanico near Botafago!

We (a friend and I, we're women, 60-ish, budget travelers) went to Rio in March 02 and we LOVED Petropolis! You don't need a tour, this is an easy day trip (take a sweater)!

Here is an excerpt from my journal:

We got up early, took a city bus to the Rodovaria (bus station), and then started the great bus-to-Petropolis search. The bus station was huge, on two levels, and had a worthless information booth on the first floor. The guy at the info booth did tell us the correct line (Facil) to use but sent us up to the second floor. After searching miles of corridors, we were told to go across the way to another big section, then sent back downstairs where we found the line about 20 feet from the information booth! It was 9:30 and a bus left at 9:40, we bought a one-way ticket (8.28 ea. = $3.45, they would not sell us a round trip) and off to Petropolis. It appeared that buses left about every 20-30 minutes.

The bus was a big, deluxe bus (with restroom), strong a/c (read: freezing cold), but no tv, thank-goodness. The drive was supposed to be winding but it was smooth and not like the winding roads we've been on in Panamá or México where we almost got sick. The roads were great, not much traffic, and beautiful scenery. Petropolis was up in the mountains, a resort of the kings/rich folks, about 1½ hrs away. Everything was green, lots of flowers along the road, lakes, a really pretty drive. The trip actually took about 1.10 minutes.

We got off the bus in town and what a surprise . . . it looked just like Switzerland . . . chalet-type houses, painted buildings, a little river ran through the town, lots of flowers and trees . . . and friendly, helpful people. We had a map with a walking tour and as we were looking at it, deciding where to begin, a lady stopped and helped us. She walked us to the Tourist Info Center in the middle of town where we picked up more info and more maps.

After sweating and sun burning in Rio, we weren't prepared for the coolness. The altitude there was high, 809 meters (I don't understand meters, just take my word for it that it's in the mountains and cold). We were dressed in shorts and sleeveless shirts. If we had seen a sweatshirt, we would have bought it! We struck off on the LP walking tour. It led us first to the cathedral where the last emperor Dom Pedro II, his wife, and daughter were buried. Then on to the Crystal Palace. This was a glass building constructed in France with pre-molded cast iron framework. It opened in 1884 to house horticultural products exhibits. Today it is used for musical/theatrical performances.

We walked through parks, saw the university and its flower clock, walked down a street with huge, beautiful, old mansions, some of them open. One was especially beautiful, painted yellow, huge windows open . . . it turned out to be Rio Negro Palace. Admission was 2 ea (83¢) and we had a private tour. The floors were a gorgeous parquet and we had to put slippers on over our sandals. It was hard to walk in them and we had to act like we were cross-country skiing. The mansion had originally been constructed by a rich coffee merchant. Later he sold the mansion, somehow the government ended up with it, and it was turned into a summer/vacation retreat for the presidents, a sort of Camp David, Brazilian style. The mansion was beautiful and looked very comfortable and livable.

We went to lunch at a place the lady we met at first recommended, Churrascaria Majórica. This was a big, dark-wood paneling, fancy type of place. A little old man going in, took us by the arm, practically dragged us in, and turned us over to an English-speaking waiter, who took great care of us. He gave us the menu, brought beer, explained the food, took us down to the meat counter to pick out what cut(s) we wanted. We decided on a shish-kabob of filet, pork, onions, tomatoes, our waiter told us it was enough for two. We ordered rice, fries, more beer. A basket of great breads appeared, along with green and ripe olives. A waiter offered grilled sausages, delicious! Our waiter was right, one shish was plenty for both of us, the meat was well seasoned and very tender. This was a great place to eat (48 = $20).

After lunch we walked over to the Imperial Museum (5 ea = $2.08). We thought this would be a regular museum with sculptures, painting, exhibits. This was the perfectly preserved and impeccably appointed palace of Dom Pedro II, it was his summer residence. We were given the slippers again and toured the mansion. The rooms were still furnished, lots of artwork, the royal crown (with 639 diamonds, 77 pearls), royal robes, really a nice museum.

Around 4:00, we walked over to the bus station and took the bus back to Rio (7.87 ea = $3.28). This was another nice bus but they didn't have the a/c turned up to early frostbite, which was great.

Hope this helps,
Sandy (in Denton)

Thanks everyone, now I'm really conflicted. LOL