Tourist Resorts
Daniel Guimarães
Santo Antônio do Pinhal
Highlights:
Aparecida: Aparecida, one of the country's most important religious centers, is 170 kilometers far from the city of São Paulo. It is home to the famous Basílica Nacional (National Basilica), where people worship the image of Nossa Senhora Aparecida, the patroness of Brazil. The recently built new Basílica is in the shape of an intersected cross which is 173 meters long and 168 meters wide. The tower is 100 meters high and it is home to Museu de Aparecida (Aparecida Museum) and Sala dos Milagres (Miracles Room). Passarela da Fé (Footbridge of Faith), a S-shaped 399 meter long footbridge, links the old and the new Basílicas.
Barra Bonita: Its main attractions are the hydroelectric power plant and the dam, the only one in operation in South America. The Tietê river flows through the town's entire perimeter (20 kilometers). In this stretch of Tietê, it is possible to fish and do water sports.
Bananal: 323 kms far from São Paulo, one of its attractions is its old Train Station, prebuilt in Belgium.
Embu: Capela de São Lázaro (Chapel of São Lázaro), in colonial style, was built in 1932. Yet the church Nossa Senhora do Rosário, in baroque style, dates from the 17th century and today it is home to Museu de Arte Sacra (Sacred Art Museum). Embu also has several other colonial buildings and is famous for its craftwork and paintings; there are more than 100 art studios in the city.
Holambra: Located in the middle west region of the state of São Paulo, 155 kms far from the capital city, Holambra is today responsible for 35% of the country's entire production of ornamental flowers and plants. The city 'was born' in 1948 with the arrival of Dutch immigrants to Fazenda Ribeirão. Today, its economy is based on the crop/livestock farming and on tourism. Tourism, a natural vocation of this 'young' city that became emancipated on October 27, 1991, has been developing rapidly for the last years. Holambra's current local government has been carrying out projects designed to foster the city's full development in tourist terms. Holambra is home to Expoflora - Latin America's largest flower festival - held in September and which gathered nearly 250,000 visitors from all over the country last year. In Expoflora, tourists have the chance of diving into a world of flowers and plants, in addition to getting in contact with the Dutch culture, folklore and traditions.
Itu: The city is home to a number of historic buildings. A must-see attraction is the church of Bom Jesus, built in 1765, and also the chapel of Santa Rita, which dates from 1728. Almeida Prado's historic mansion is home to Museu Republicano (Republican Museum), where the memories of the legendary Convenção de Itu (Convention of Itu) are preserved.
São Pedro: The city's mineral water, known all over the country, is from the Linda spring. The city is also famous for its embroideries. São Pedro has waterfalls, lakes and backwaters. One of its attractions is the road to Patrimônio do Santo Antonio, at the top of Serra de São Pedro, entirely paved.
Others towns:
Batatais
Eldorado
Ibiuna
Ibitinga
Igaraçu do Tietê
Ilha Solteira
Ribeirão Pires
Peruibe
Poá
Salesópolis
Salto
Santa Rita do Passa Quatro
Santo Antônio do Pinhal
São José do Barreiro
São Roque
Tremembé
Tupã