Description

Ouro Preto manages to keep travelers arriving in the city entertained for many days. There are dozens of sights to be visited, beautiful cities in the vicinity for day trips, many viewpoints that deserve photo stops and, of course, countless Minas Gerais foods to be tried. There will be no time for so many attractions. If you are organizing a short trip, just a weekend, it is best to focus on the essentials of Ouro Preto so as not to get lost among so many churches, museums, mines and charming towns. If you have more time, take the opportunity to discover the art and architecture of Ouro Preto from the inside, not just the facades. The landscape of Ouro Preto is dazzling, but it is inside the churches and mansions that some of the greatest local treasures are to be found. No other city in Minas Gerais has such a large offer of beautiful churches open to visitors as Ouro Preto. And they are not just important for religious reasons. Many churches in Ouro Preto are true works of art and magnificent examples of colonial architecture. Going through them is a gift for the eyes. Great names in baroque art from Minas Gerais worked on projects for buildings, sculptures and paintings for churches in the 18th century. Entering the churches of Ouro Preto is like visiting museums. Each of them reserves a special work. The task, however, may not be easy. Often, the churches in Ouro Preto do not have regular opening hours, are closed for restoration or charge entrance fees to visit. Ouro Preto has as its great mark the intense mining activity in the colonial period, when the city was still the famous Vila Rica. Little remains of that time when gold was the great local product. The wealth left for Europe, but it is still possible to visit some of the mines from which tons of ores and precious stones were removed. During the visit, tourists enter the mines and hear details about how exploration was at the sites and about the work of enslaved people in the mines. The tours are accompanied by guides.