Belo Horizonte, what is there to do while I visit?
 

I will be accompanying my husband on a business trip to Belo Horizonte next week. Sine my days will be at my leisure, what should I plan to visit/sight see on my own?

Pampulha is worth visiting, it's a cluster of buildings around an artificial lake designed by Oscar Niemeyer: a museum (which was a casino), a church, ballroom and football stadium. It's easily accessible by bus.

Also you could do a day trip to one or more of the Colonial towns like Ouro Preto, Tiradentes, Mariana, Congonhas. There's amazing Baroque architecture by Aleijadinho:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleijadinho

You can get a local bus to Ouro Preto and Mariana, alternatively you can go on a guided tour.

The tourist information centre in BH (in the main park in the city) is very helpful for planning trips.

Another interesting place in the area, this sculpture park about an hour and a half away:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zach-u...b_3826723.html

http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-f...1416.htmlstory

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...38281663481150

You can, in addition to day or overnight trips to the Colonial towns mentioned above (Ouro Preto and Tiradentes, and a brief stop in Congonhas to see the sculptures are the best IMO--go to Tiradentes/Sao Joao del Rei on the weekend and take the steam train/Maria Fumaca between them),
go to Sabara, a Colonial town which has become really an outlying neighborhood of B.H. accessible by local bus (20 minutes).

Another interesting thing to do (IMO) is to visit some of the cachaca distilleries of an evening and sample the various offerings.

Also, the shopping malls (I usually go to Shopping Del Rey because my friends live nearby, but it's also a good one.) and even the non-food sections of the mega-supermarkets can keep me occupied browsing for quite a few hours.

If you are in B.H. on a Sunday, there is a huge outdoor fair downtown with everything from food to clothes to jewelry to household decoration to furniture.....

Ouro Preto is a must if you have the time. A real gem.

besides the colonial towns (tiradentes is my favorite) I suggest Caraca Natural Park, a very interesting nature preserve/Catholic retreat area with a gorgeous old monastery, hiking trails, typical food of the area, and lots of charm. It's about an hour from BH.