Exploring Historic Ouro Preto
OURO PRETO | MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL
As you wind through the beautiful Brazilian mountain roads of highway 356, the historic city of Ouro Preto comes into view, exposing its many picturesque churches among the rolling hills. Its really a breathtaking sight.
GETTING TO OURO PRETO
My first stop in Brazil was Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais. Just an hour and a half drive from Belo is the former (1720 - 1897) capital of Minas Gerais, Ouro Preto, making it a fantastic day trip, which is just what we did. The drive out to Ouro Preto is a beautiful drive but you have to watch out for the radars that are all over the freeways. I was a victim of the radar system and got my first international speeding ticket in the mail about three weeks later. The steep city streets reminded me of San Francisco but the cobblestone in the streets reminded me that I was not in California anymore. There is a small parking lot where you can park for just a few dollars while you explore the city center.
HISTORY OF OURO PRETO
Ouro Preto was founded over 300 years ago and the center of the Brazilian gold rush. It quickly expanded and at one point became the most populated city in the New World. While over 800 tons of gold was officially harvested, much more circulated illegally with a lot ending up in the many churches of the city. The wealth that the city accumulated attracted many prominent Europeans and the arts flourished. It had around 80,000 residents at a time when New York only had around half as many inhabitants. It became the capital of Minas Gerais in 1720 and served as such until 1897, when the government outgrew the town and moved to Belo Horizonte.
WHAT TO DO IN OURO PRETO
Today, the economy of Ouro Preto relies heavily on tourism and it is easy to see why the tourists are drawn to the city. While my favorite part of Ouro Preto was exploring the many churches, there are many other sights to see and sites to explore. There are the remnants of the mining days to explore, Portuguese colonial architecture to see and museums to visit. In the city center, there is a tourism information booth where you can get a guide to show you around all of the main sites. This is just what we did and I told him that my main focus was photography and he catered our tour to get us to the best spots around town. The guide spoke English and gave us a great overview of the city, giving us a lot of interesting facts. We only had one day to spend in Ouro Preto and while it can be seen in just one day, if you have a few days, there are a lot of things to see in and around town. Spend as much time as you can in the city.
