Belo Horizonte City Guide

Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, is one of Brazil's first planned cities, a metropolis of roughly 2.3 million (around 6 million across the metro region) laid out on a grid below the Serra do Curral. Known for its warm mineiro hospitality, a celebrated bar-and-restaurant culture and the Niemeyer-designed Pampulha complex, it offers a more affordable, lower-volatility alternative to São Paulo and Rio. Foreigners buy urban property on fully equal terms, and prime value concentrates in a compact cluster of central-south neighbourhoods, Savassi, Lourdes, Funcionários, Belvedere and Buritis.