Things to do in Brasília
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Brasília
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months. Early dry season, cool nights, green gold cerrado and all trails and lake activities running.
Good dry season months. April brings the city birthday, July brings recess and Capital Moto Week.
Clearest sunsets and flowering ipê trees, but extreme dry air, dust and September heat.
Rainy season with afternoon storms. December to February is worst for the city, with recess and reduced hours.
What's on
- Aniversário de Brasília 21 April
The city's birthday, with free concerts and events on the Monumental Axis.
- Porão do Rock dates vary, recent editions in May
Brasília's long running rock festival and its biggest homegrown music weekend.
- Festas Juninas throughout June
São João parties with forró, quadrilha dancing and corn based food across clubs and quadras.
- Na Praia Festival June to August
A lake shore beach club and concert season in the Setor de Clubes Sul during the dry winter.
- Capital Moto Week usually July
One of Latin America's largest motorcycle gatherings, centred on the City Park area.
Best things to do in Brasília
Catedral de Brasília
Sixteen concrete columns curve like hands in prayer over a sunken nave of blue green glass and suspended angels.
Congresso Nacional
Twin towers flanked by a dome and a bowl, and the free interior tour shows both chambers still at work.
Praça dos Três Poderes
The square where Congress, Planalto Palace and the Supreme Court face each other around the national flag.
Palácio Itamaraty
Arches float on a reflecting pool and inside are gardens and a major collection of Brazilian art.
Palácio da Alvorada
The president's lakeside residence, its hammock like columns reflected in a pool at late afternoon light.
Santuário São João Bosco
A plain concrete box in Asa Sul whose interior glows in twelve shades of blue stained glass.
Memorial JK
JK's tomb, library and the construction photographs that explain how this capital was built so fast.
Torre de TV de Brasília
The free deck at 75 metres is the best place to read the aeroplane plan, ideally at sunset.
Where to stay in Brasília
Setor Hoteleiro Norte
first visits and premium hotels
North hotel sector towers by Brasília Shopping, close to Asa Norte dining, with no street life at night.
Setor Hoteleiro Sul
first visits and widest price spread
South hotel sector by the malls and metro, close to Asa Sul dining and the Cathedral.
SHTN
lakeside resort stays
Lake shore strip toward Alvorada Palace with resort pools and gardens, and nothing walkable outside.
Asa Norte and Asa Sul
budget and longer neighbourhood stays
Superquadras with a local commercial strip, bakery and bar, the only base with a neighbourhood at night.
Think twice about
- Rodoviária and CONIC perimeter at night
Deserted and shabby after dark with the centre's highest pickpocketing reports. Pass through by car.
- Setor Comercial Sul after dark
Office towers empty completely at night, leaving dark deserted streets. Hotels are fine, night walks are not.
- Satellite cities as a tourist base
Ceilândia and similar cities are 25 to 45 minutes from the axis with almost nothing a visitor came for.
- Lago Sul and Lago Norte without a car
Safe, leafy and affluent, but there is no strip to walk to and every coffee needs a ride.
Best restaurants in Brasília
Taypá Sabores del Perú
Brasília's most decorated Peruvian kitchen, with ceviches, tiraditos and pisco sours in Lago Sul.
Restaurante Universal
Mara Alcamim's joyful 210 Sul institution since 1997, serving creative Brazilian comfort cooking.
Sallva Bar & Restaurante
A polished lakeside Italian terrace at Pontão, best as a long lunch drifting into sunset.
Mangai
Northeastern Brazilian food by the kilo in a vast hall by the JK Bridge, with a lake terrace.
Dudu Bar
Chef Dudu Camargo's 303 Sul terrace, strong on risottos, petiscos and cocktails into the evening.
Nonna Augusta Trattoria
A family recipe Italian in Asa Norte, with lasagna, ravioli, gnocchi and parmigiana.
Coco Bambu Lago Sul
Huge sharing seafood platters and moqueca on the lake, built for birthdays and family Sundays.
BSB Grill N° 1 - Asa Norte
Grilled meat and Arab food in one Asa Norte address, the group dinner where nobody leaves unserved.
Outdoor things to do in Brasília
Parque da Cidade Sarah Kubitschek
One of the largest urban parks in the world, with paved loops for walking, running and cycling.
Pontão do Lago Sul
A lakeside boardwalk and lawn timed for sunset, with the JK Bridge in view and dinner behind you.
Lago Paranoá
The city's lake for catamaran cruises, stand up paddle, kayak, sailing and sunrise canoe groups.
Parque Nacional de Brasília
Cerrado trails and two natural mineral water pools a short drive from the hotel sectors.
Jardim Botânico de Brasília
A quiet cerrado botanical garden with trails, a Japanese garden and a cafe under the trees.
Clube de Golfe de Brasília
The only Robert Trent Jones Sr. course in Brazil, 18 holes on the lake with two signature waterside holes.
Cachoeira do Abade
Maintained trails, bridges and swimmable falls in a reserve outside the colonial town of Pirenópolis.
Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros
A UNESCO cerrado plateau of quartz fields, canyons and waterfalls that needs two to three nights.
Best hotels in Brasília
B Hotel Brasília
The north hotel sector's design flagship, with a patterned facade and a rooftop pool over the axis.
Cullinan Hplus Premium
A reliable premium mid choice in SHN with large rooms, a pool and spa area and a strong breakfast.
Windsor Plaza Brasília
The south sector's classic full service luxury pick, with spa, pool and a diplomatic clientele.
Meliá Brasil 21
Large apart hotel suites by the City Park, the default for families and longer stays in the south sector.
Brasília Imperial Hotel e Eventos
A dated but central south sector tower whose weekend rates are the honest cheap option in SHS.
Royal Tulip Brasília Alvorada
The city's lakeside resort, with a large pool in gardens running down toward Lake Paranoá.
Brasília Palace Hotel
A restored Niemeyer hotel from the capital's opening era, low and calm on the lake shore.
Fusion Hplus Express+
Aparthotel flats with pool and kitchens at the Asa Norte edge of the hotel sector for longer stays.
Is Brasília expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | R$280 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | R$550 a person |
| Splurge | R$1,100 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Congresso Nacional: a few days ahead
- Palácio Itamaraty: weeks ahead
- Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Brasília: a few days ahead
- Clube de Golfe de Brasília: weeks ahead
- Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros: weeks ahead
- B Hotel Brasília: a few days ahead
- Taypá Sabores del Perú: a few days ahead
- Restaurante Universal: a few days ahead
- Check Itamaraty and Congress visitor programmes for your day and take photo ID for security screening.
- Reserve Taypá, Universal and Nonna Augusta at weekends, and book golf and Chapada guides ahead.
- Free CCBB exhibition tickets can still run out online for blockbuster shows.
- Hotels discount on empty weekends and rise in full Congress weeks, so price both patterns.
Is Brasília safe?
- Use ATMs inside malls and carry a passport copy for daily sightseeing.
- Be alert for pickpocketing at the Rodoviária, the TV Tower fair and stadium crowds.
- In the dry season carry water, sunscreen and lip balm. Humidity can fall below 20 percent.
- Emergency numbers are police 190, ambulance 192 and fire 193.
Brasília travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Walking the Monumental Axis end to end in the sun instead of driving between stops.
- Building a day around the Conjunto Cultural da República, which is often between programmes.
- Choosing a mall branch over the quadra or lake original, especially for Mangai.
- Visiting Pontão at noon, when there is almost no shade, instead of at sunset.
Getting around Brasília: public transport and more
- Plan on rideshares with Uber or 99, or a rental car, for the whole stay. Distances are monumental and shadeless.
- Walk only inside each site, inside a superquadra, in the City Park and at the lake promenade.
- The metro serves the hotel sectors and Asa Sul only. It does not reach Lago Sul, the national park or Chapada.
- The airport is about 11 km and 15 to 25 minutes from the hotel sectors outside peak hours.
Who Brasília suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Brasília your trip
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