Getting to and around Belo Horizonte, Brazil

International and many national flights land at

, known as

, www.infraero.gov.br

. You can get a taxi or bus from Confins all go to the

. The domestic airport is at

airport, passing the

and the cheaper hotel district. Interstate

buses arrive at the

next to Praça Rio Branco at the northwest end of Avenida Afonso Pena. The bus station is clean and well organized with toilets, a post office, telephones,

left-luggage lockers and shops.

The city has a good public transport system.

buses run on express routes;

buses have circular routes around the Contorno;

buses run on diagonal routes. Some buses link up with the regional overground metrô. At present, the metrô is limited to one line and covers a limited portion of the north and west of the city and few areas of interest to tourists. However there are plans to extend the service to Pampulha

airport and the centre.

Belo Horizonte centres on the large Parque Municipal in the heart of downtown Belo

Horizonte and on the broad main avenue of Afonso Pena. This is constantly full of pedestrians

and traffic, except on Sunday morning when cars are banned and part of it becomes a huge open-air market. Daytime activity is concentrated on and around the main commercial district on Avenida Afonso Pena, which is the best area for lunch. At night, activity shifts to Savassi, southwest of the centre, which has a wealth of restaurants, bars and clubs.

The municipal office,

, www.turismo.mg.gov.br, www.belotur.com.br; also on Parque Municipal, at the airports and rodoviária

, has lots of useful information and maps. The free monthly

lists events and opening times. The tourism authority for Minas Gerais,

, www.turminas.mg.gov.br/intminas.html

, is very helpful; its

booklet has facts.