Tourism to Brazil starts to focus more on its heritage after the devastating fire that ripped through Rio de Janeiro’s national museum.

This article will explore two of the lesser known neighbourhoods and cities that tourists should visit, interviewing someone who previously lived there, before exploring the recent problems with Brazilian heritage funding, and where the tourism sector might be heading in the future as Brazil grapples with the loss of many historical artefacts.

Tourism to Brazil from the UK is a small market, largely as a result of high air fares (an indirect return flight leaving in six months’ time will set you back around £650) but around 150,000 to 200,000 visit each year.

For most that make the long trip across the Atlantic, the sights and sounds of Rio de Janeiro epitomise Brazil of Christ the Redeemer standing sentient above the sprawling city below, of the golden sands of Copacabana Beach, of favela towns home to hundreds of thousands of people, and of Estadio Maracanã. The embedding of Rio as the cultural capital of Brazil in the global psyche was only furthered by the hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the 2016 Summer Olympics. What if we look past Rio though? Brazil is the fifth-biggest country in the world by land area, and is home to over 210 million people, so surely there’s more to this country than a single city?

Alfie Widger is a 26-year-old seasoned traveller who has visited over thirty countries, including spending a year in Brazil from summer 2018, to summer 2019. He says that while there are some aspects of Rio that are as they appear in the tourism adverts, he encourages people to get out and explore a lot more of this amazing country, rather than just Rio. In particular, he has two recommendations – the little neighbourhoods tucked away within the metropolis of Sao Paulo, and the more intimate, historic city of Petropolis.

Sao Paulo

Alfie says: “No one ever thinks about going to Sao Paulo in Brazil because there’s Rio”.
“Sao Paulo has more of a reputation for being a literal concrete jungle in the middle of the rainforest”.

Alfie said that much in a way to London, Sao Paulo’s problems are amplified, and therefore reputation further damaged, because of the sheer scale of the city- the 2022 census found that 12 million people call Sao Paulo home, with a total population of 20-22 million including nearby towns and cities.

In terms of a specific areas to visit within Sao Paulo, Alfie says that the semi-affluent neighbourhoods of Liberdade are good choices for tourists.

The area has become a continental hub of East Asian (and particularly Japanese) culture, with Japanese markets following an influx of Japanese immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries.

“It’s a very interesting mix of cultures around there – In a way because Brazil even up until recently wasn’t on the internet it’s very disconnected from the world- the idea that you have all these little subcultures that basically recreate themselves as opposed to looking to anything else. For example, you have little rock subcultures here, and have fashion subcultures out there,” he says.

Petropolis

Petropolis is a picturesque city nestled in the mountains to the North-East of Rio de Janeiro, around 40 miles from the main city. The historic city was the summer home to emperors during the 19th century and the last days of the empire, reflected in the architectural style of buildings such as Palácio Quitandinha and the Cathedral of Saint Peter of Alcantara.

In the modern day, while tourism numbers are on the rise here, it still sits far below other destinations in the area despite it’s beautiful sights and unique sites, such as one of Brazil’s largest breweries, Cervejaria Petrópolis, which offers guided tours seven days a week- there’s even sample tasting if you get thirsty!

Brazil has had a chequered recent history with upkeep of historical buildings and heritage- the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro had suffered for years with severely depleted maintenance cuts, with at one point in 2015 a temporary closure taking place as cleaners hadn’t been paid on time.

Then, in September 2018, a major fire ripped through much of the building, which was already in a state of disrepair. Over 90% of the collections and artefacts were lost forever, including many Indigenous language and artefacts which were irreplaceable. Brazil lost a major part of its heritage in that blaze- and it appears it may have been a wake-up call.

Alfie visited Petropolis in the week after the fire and said: “This was a real watershed moment for a lot of Brazilian people who already knew that their culture was being severely underfunded and was at risk of this sort of thing happening and it very much happened and blew up in their faces and it caused a lot of anger at the time towards politicians who had all sorts of chance to remedy that. It renewed, at the very least, momentary interest in cultural heritage,

“Petropolis is a fascinating place, there also some little arty areas- for example I found an exhibition taking place in a basement,” he says.

The large cuts to heritage budgets came at the same time that billions were being spent on the World Cup and the Summer Olympics.

Commenting at the time, Katia Bogea, President of the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage said: “a predictable tragedy, because we’ve known for a long time that Brazilian cultural heritage has no budget.”

In terms of more general advice for tourists, Alfie advised against visiting the Favelas of any big city: “There’s no need for you to engage in basically poverty tourism because the country’s a lot more than that,

“There is real culture that doesn’t just come from gratifying yourself through feeling better about your life because you see the lives that poor people live and it’s where you’ll find the most danger,

“But actually, almost everybody is extremely friendly and very happy- it’s a very stereotypical way of looking at tourism in a way, but they’re very happy that you’re visiting especially if you’re anywhere off the beaten track, ” he said.

In all, Brazil as an entire country is worth saving up for- the sheer size and breadth of climates and cultures makes it a must-visit country for the enthusiastic traveller. Whether you’re after the vibrant culture of the northeast, the majesty of the Amazon, the bustle of the districts of Sao Paulo or the history of Petropolis, Brazil has something to offer everyone.