Gramado travel guide

At 850 m above sea level, Gramado provides a summer escape from the 40°C heat of the plains. The town lies on the edge of a plateau with fantastic views. It is clean and full of Alpine-style buildings making it feel like a Swiss Disneyworld. Famous for its chocolate, Gramado survives almost entirely through tourism. Its main street, Avenida Borges de Medeiros, is full of kitsch artisan shops and fashion boutiques. In the summer, thousands of hortênsias (hydrangeas) bloom. Among its parks are Parque Knorr and Lago Negro, and Minimundo (T054-3286 1334, Tue-Sun 1300-1700) a collection of miniature models such as European castles. About 1.5 km along Avenida das Hortênsias heading towards Canela is the Prawer chocolate factory (Av das Hortênsias 4100, T054-3286 1580, http://www.prawer.com.br, Mon-Fri 0830-1130 and 1330-1700) which offers free tours of the truffle-making process and free tastings. Opposite is the Hollywood Dream Car Automobile Museum (Av das Hortênsias 4151, T054-3286 4515, 0900-1900, US$8) which has an excellent collection of American gas-guzzlers dating back to a 1929 Ford Model A and Harley-Davidson motorbikes from 1926. For a good walk or bike ride into the valley, take the dirt road Turismo Rural 28, ‘Um Mergulho no Vale’ (A Dive into the Valley), which starts at Avenida das Hortênsias immediately before the (the Brazilian Environment Ministry) chocolate factory. There are two tourist information offices (Av das Hortênsias (Pórtico), T054-3286 1418) and (Praça Maj Nicoletti/Av Borges de Medeiros 1674, T054-3286 1475, http://www.gramadosite.com.br).