Things to do in Blumenau
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Blumenau
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall weather and value, mild highs, lower humidity and the cheapest hotel rates outside festivals.
Oktoberfest month, the best festival trip and the worst for crowds, prices, queues and spring rain.
Hot, humid and wettest, with flood watch in summer, partly redeemed by Sommerfest in January and the nearby coast.
Mild and driest winter, highs around 20 to 21C with cold snaps, good for cafes, breweries and museums.
Festival Brasileiro da Cerveja month, the beer connoisseur's Blumenau at a fraction of October chaos.
What's on
- Oktoberfest Blumenau Most of October each year
The largest Oktoberfest in the Americas, parades on Rua XV and pavilions at Parque Vila Germanica.
- Festival Brasileiro da Cerveja March
Brazil's most respected craft beer festival and competition at Vila Germanica.
- Sommerfest January
The summer mini Oktoberfest at Vila Germanica, with national name concerts.
- Páscoa em Blumenau / Osterdorf Weeks before Easter
German Easter traditions at Vila Germanica, the most family weighted festival of the year.
- Magia de Natal Late November to December
Christmas parades and lights at Vila Germanica and in Centro.
- Stammtisch Blumenau Autumn, check current calendar
Friend groups take over Rua XV with their own stands, food and beer, the least tourist facing event.
- Festitália Mid year, check current calendar
The Italian immigration festival at Vila Germanica, the Vale's other heritage.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Blumenau
Parque Vila Germânica
Blumenau's half timbered festival village, home of Oktoberfest and year round beer gardens, shops and events.
Rua XV de Novembro
The historic main street for a slow walk past preserved facades, cafes, the flower clock and parade route.
Catedral São Paulo Apóstolo
The modernist cathedral on Rua XV, a short and striking stop that anchors the historic centre walk.
Museu da Cerveja
A small beer museum that is best with a guide, covering brewing history and Blumenau's path to beer capital.
Museu Hering
The Hering textile museum tells Blumenau's industry story in a preserved factory complex founded in 1880.
Museu da Família Colonial
A small museum in a founder era house showing how a German immigrant family actually lived in Blumenau.
Horto Botânico Edith Gaertner
A quiet shaded garden by the colonial museum, famous for its small cemetery for the Gaertner family cats.
Cervejaria Blumenau
The namesake craft brewery for a factory tour and tasting, from Capivara IPA to Catharina Sour styles.
Where to stay in Blumenau
Centro
first trip, all round base
Walkable to Rua XV, the cathedral, museums, cafes and the best restaurants, on the flat valley floor.
Velha
Oktoberfest and festival weeks
Home of Parque Vila Germanica and Ramiro Ruediger, so festival nights end with a walk home.
Ponta Aguda
quieter stays and drivers
Residential and calmer across the river from Centro, a short walk or quick ride over the bridge.
Victor Konder / Vila Nova
longer stays and local life
Around the university, with cafes and local restaurants and a less tourist facing feel.
Think twice about
- Low riverfront along Beira-Rio and the Itajai Acu in Centro
This strip floods first in a city with over a hundred recorded floods. Prefer rooms above ground level in wet season and ask ground floor rentals about flood history.
- Steep hillside streets
Prolonged rain brings landslide risk on steep slopes, as in November 2008. There is no reputable visitor lodging there and no reason to base there.
- BR-470 highway strip
Car only lodging that walks to nothing. Only practical with your own car and a specific reason to be on that road.
- Immediate Vila Germanica perimeter during Oktoberfest
Sleepless during the festival. Stay a few streets back in Velha or in Centro if you need sleep in October.
Best restaurants in Blumenau
Oliv Restaurante
Blumenau's best rated dining room, intimate Italian Mediterranean cooking with a strong wine list.
Norden Bar e Restaurante
A beautiful old house and biergarten serving proper German plates and an international beer list.
Figueira Restaurante
Wood fired noble cuts and fondue in a warm local celebration restaurant with big beer and wine lists.
Rosa Mexicano
A vivid dinner only Mexican restaurant that Blumenau itself treats as its favourite night out.
Mortadella Ristorante & Pizzeria
The city's default good Italian cantina since 2009, for first line pizzas, pastas and a cosy veranda.
The Basement English Pub
An English style pub in Centro with rated pub food, long beer and whisky lists and live sport.
Confeitaria Cafehaus Glória
Famous since 1977 for the Cafe Colonial spread of tortes, strudels and cucas, plus the Torta Gloria.
Alemão Batata Choperia
Festival food at everyday prices inside the Vila Germanica orbit, built on loaded potatoes and chopp.
Outdoor things to do in Blumenau
Parque Ecológico Spitzkopf
Blumenau's signature forest hike to a 910 metre summit with valley viewpoints, open weekends only.
Parque das Nascentes
Trails and river bathing at the edge of Serra do Itajai National Park, the city's wild Atlantic Forest back door.
Parque Ramiro Ruediger
The city's everyday lake park for a dawn run or evening lap beside Vila Germanica, free and well kept.
Parque Natural Municipal São Francisco de Assis
A protected patch of Atlantic Forest inside the city, with short shaded trails minutes from Centro.
Circuito Vale Europeu
Brazil's pioneering cycle circuit, best ridden as a supported day section between Blumenau and Pomerode.
Ibirama Rafting
Rafting base for the Itajai Acu river near Apiuna and Ibirama, with graded sections and a long zipline.
Rota do Enxaimel
A rural route of half timbered houses outside Pomerode, best driven or cycled slowly with farm stops.
Beto Carrero World
Latin America's largest theme park, an hour from Blumenau for coasters, shows and a big family day out.
Best hotels in Blumenau
Villa do Vale Boutique Hotel
Blumenau's number one hotel and only true luxury boutique, quiet and design led near Centro.
Hotel Glória
The traditional Centro hotel whose breakfast room gave the city its famous Cafehaus Gloria cafe.
Plaza Blumenau Hotel
A spacious full service Centro hotel praised for staff and breakfast, minutes from Rua XV.
Quality Hotel Blumenau
A modern chain hotel on the Vila Germanica side, so festival nights end with a walk not a queue.
Hotel Steinhausen Colonial
A calmer colonial style hotel across the river in Ponta Aguda, with pool, breakfast and river views.
ibis Budget Blumenau
The reliable cheap sleep, a clean compact ibis Budget well placed for Centro and bus corridors.
Stamm Hostel Backpackers
A well reviewed sociable hostel with dorms and privates, the cheapest decent bed near Centro.
Is Blumenau expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | R$180 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | R$380 a person |
| Splurge | R$850 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Cervejaria Blumenau: a few days ahead
- Circuito Vale Europeu: a few days ahead
- Ibirama Rafting: a few days ahead
- Beto Carrero World: a few days ahead
- Parque Unipraias: a few days ahead
- Joinville Country Club: weeks ahead
- Oliv Restaurante: a few days ahead
- Norden Bar e Restaurante: a few days ahead
- Oktoberfest hotels and weekend tickets sell out months ahead, so book both early.
- Book Oliv and Norden days ahead at weekends, and brewery tours, bike support and rafting days ahead.
- Buy Beto Carrero tickets online days ahead and go on a weekday outside school holidays if you can.
Is Blumenau safe?
- Follow Defesa Civil guidance in heavy rain, never drive through flooded streets, and expect rafting and trails to cancel.
- Watch drinks and cash in Oktoberfest crowds, where petty opportunism is the main risk.
- Emergency number in Brazil is 190 for police and 192 for medical emergencies.
Blumenau travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Vila Germanica outside a festival is a pleasant hour, not a full day, so pair it with Ramiro Ruediger and Bier Vila.
- Thapyoka and Senac Blumengarten appear in older guides but are listed as permanently closed, so do not plan meals around them.
- Glass and porcelain factory shop stops on Pomerode tours can become long sales stops, so choose tours that let you opt out.
Getting around Blumenau: public transport and more
- Walk Centro, it is a 15 minute web of main sights, hotels and restaurants.
- Ride Uber or 99 for Vila Germanica at night and for cross town trips, they are widely used and cheap.
- Fly to Navegantes for the closest airport, about 40 to 50 minutes by road, or Florianopolis for more flights.
- Rent a car for Pomerode, Spitzkopf, rafting and the coast, the most useful upgrade for three days or more.
Who Blumenau suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Blumenau your trip
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