Brazil offers terrific experiences that should be on every traveler’s list. Here are Fodor’s top picks for a memorable trip.
Postcard-Perfect Beaches
Slip into your beachwear for a day of sunbathing and people watching on Brazil’s most beautiful beaches, including Copacabana, Ipanema, and Búzios.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Brazil Travel Guide
Carnival
Brazilians can throw a party like no one else, and Carnival is the biggest party of the year—a raucous bacchanal of music, drink, and flesh.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Brazil Travel Guide
Brasília’s Architecture
Built from scratch in less than five years in the late 1950s, Brasília, the country’s planned capital, is an architecture buff’s dream.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Brasilia and the West Travel Guide
Brazilian Beats
Music is woven into the fabric of Brazilian life, and no trip here is complete without catching a live show, whether samba, bossa nova, axé, or forró.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Brazil Travel Guide
Brazilian Wildlife
The biodiversity in Brazil is astonishing. With any luck, you’ll spot capybaras and anteaters in the Pantanal and toucans and pink dolphins in the Amazon.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Brazil Travel Guide
Food and Drink
From black bean stews to Amazonian fish dishes, Brazil’s cuisines will delight your taste buds. Start your meal with a caipirinha, the national cocktail.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Brazil Travel Guide
Iguaçu Falls
Iguaçu’s raging, jungle-fringed waterfalls will leave you speechless, especially on a spray-soaked boat tour.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s The South Travel Guide
Christ the Redeemer
Don’t leave Rio without making a trip to the statue of Christ the Redeemer, arms outstretched to embrace the city from its perch on Corcovado Mountain.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Rio de Janeiro Travel Guide
Ouro Preto
This former gold-rush town is nestled in the Minas Gerais mountains, with cobblestoned streets and red-roofed buildings that climb the hills.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Minas Gerais Travel Guide
Soccer Matches
Soccer is a national passion and an art form in Brazil. It’s a blast to sit among thousands of cheering, chanting fans in one of the country’s iconic stadiums.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Brazil Travel Guide
São Paulo Nightlife
São Paulo’s nightlife options are seemingly endless, and the numerous bars and nightclubs prove worthy venues for even the feistiest nighthawk.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s Sao Paulo Travel Guide
Jungle Lodges
There’s no better way to explore the Amazon rain forest than by staying right in the middle of it in an all-inclusive riverside lodge.
PLAN YOUR TRIP: Visit Fodor’s The Amazon Travel Guide