São João del Rei travel guide

São João del Rei lies at the foot of the Serra do Lenheiro, astride what once must have been a winding little stream. This has now sadly been transformed into a concrete gutter with grass verges. Eighteenth-century bridges cross the stream leading to streets lined with colonial buildings and plazas with crumbling churches, the most interesting and best preserved of which is the church of São Francisco. The town feels far less of a tourist museum piece than nearby Tiradentes. There is a lively music scene here, with two renowned orchestras and an annual arts festival in July, and the bars are filled with locals rather than tourists waiting for their coach. There is a good view of the town and surroundings from Alto da Boa Vista, where there is a Senhor dos Montes (Statue of Christ).

São João del Rei is famous as the home of Tiradentes and of Tancredo Neves. The former was born in the Fazenda de Pombal, about 15 km downstream from Tiradentes on the Rio das Mortes. After his execution, the fazenda was confiscated. It is now an experimental station owned by Ibama. Tancredo Neves, to whom there is a memorial in the town, was the man who would have become the first civilian president of Brazil after the military dictatorships of the mid-20th century, had he not mysteriously died before taking office.