Florianópolis

Introduction

Florianopolis 4

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Florianopolis (Portuguese: Florianópolis) is the capital of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Half of the city is located on the mainland of Brazil while the other half is on the Santa Catarina Island. It has some of Brazil's most beautiful beaches.

It is formed by an ocean island of 43650 km² (54 km by 18 km) and a small peninsula on the mainland, with 1210 km². It is situated in southern Brazil between the parallels 27 20' and 27 51' latitude south and between the meridians 48 20' and 48 35' longitude west. Three bridges link the island to the continent but at the present Hercílio Luz Bridge, a landmark of the city, is closed for repairs. It is possible it will open in the future for pedestrians and cyclists. Recently Florianopolis has became one of the most popular destinations in Brazil for people who are looking for superb beaches, beautiful scenery, interesting culture and friendly people. It has also experienced a real estate boom, with Brazilians, especially from the states of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul states, looking for a better quality of life away from the chaos of the big cities. It has currently has an a estimated population of 360,000 people.

The city of Florianopolis is quite modern, with shopping malls, chain and high-end restaurants and many glamorous nightclubs. The highway system serving the city is very good.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

The northern beach resorts Jurerê, Daniela, Canasvieiras, Brava and Ingleses get very busy during the summer and there are plenty of hotels, restaurants and other conveniences for the tourist. Eastern beaches, like Joaquina, Mole and Moçambique are among the best surfing beaches and popular with young people. Beaches heading south include Campeche, Armação and Morro das Pedras, which are all very beautiful and also good for surfing. Isolated and unspoilt beaches, like Lagoinha do Leste and Naufragados can be found at the southern end of the island and can only be reached by trail. The Lagoa da Conceição lagoon is a famous natural attraction, and the centrepiece of the island - sports, cuisine and entertainment are first class! Peri lagoon is quieter and great for nature walks. The Lagoa da Conceição lagoon is relatively shallow, with high winds making it a world-class location for windsurfing.

Forts

Forts were constructed as early as 1739, the forts served to protect the city from possible Spanish attacks.

• Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição (1742)
• Fortaleza de Santo Antônio (1740)
• Fortaleza Santana (1761)
• Fortaleza São José da Ponta Grossa (1740)

Ribeirão da Ilha

Ribeirão da Ilha is about 36 kilometers from the center, this old district of Florianopolis is a testament to Azorean immigration. Its historic center, in Frequesia, has a plaza which contains the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Lapa do Ribeirão (church), and the Ethnological Museam which houses documents and relics from the region's history.

Other Sights and Activities

• Catedral Metropolitana is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, located at Praça XV de Novembro.
• Municipal Market was formerly used as the city market place, this market on Largo da Alfândega still holds some interesting sights.
• Hercílio Luz Bridge is the postcard symbol of the city, inaugurated in 1926 linking the island to the mainland.
• Lagoa da Conceição is a large beautiful lake in the center of the island.
• Sambaqui
• Ratones Island
• Anhatomirim Island and its Fortaleza de Santa Cruz
• Teatro Álvaro de Carvalho, rua Marechal Guilherme, nº 26. (near the Catedral Metropolitana), tel. 3028-8070 ou 3028-8071. In the center of the city, the Municipal Theater is an example of 1870's local architecture.
• Teatro Ademir Rosa (Teatro do CIC), Av. Irineu Bornhausen, 5600, tel. 3953-2300.
• Velha Figueira, this 100+ year-old tree in Praça XV de Novembro is honored in the official municipal hymn of Florianopolis.

Events and Festivals

• ASP World Tour, Association of Surfing Professionals (WCT) Florianópolis is the main location of the WCT, which classifies 50 competitors, among professionals and amateurs. The state of Santa Caterina is the only location in South America for this event.
• The Holy Spirit Feast (Festa do Divino) is a festival that takes place 40 days after Easter. The celebration dates to the colonial era and includes a parade, music, and street food.
• RONMAN, hosted by Brazil Telecom, is a triathlon competition wich involves Open Swim (3.8k)/Bike (180k)/Run (42k), this event happens every year in the island of Florianopolis since 2001, and brings people from all over the wolrd, 1450 athletes from many different countries. There are 26 seletive competitions in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. The Brasil Telecom IRONMAN is the Latin America one. The 50 best athletes will go to the IRONMAN Hawai, at the Kona island.

Weather

Florianópolis experiences a humid subtropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for fall and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter. Due to the proximity of the sea, the relative humidity of the atmosphere is 80% on average. On average of the maximum temperatures of the hottest month varies from 26 °C to 31 °C and on average of the minimum temperatures are from 7.5 °C to 12 °C. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -2 °C, in 1975.

Getting There

By Plane

Hercílio Luz International Airport - Av. Diomício Freitas, 3393. (48) 3331-4000 (fax:(48) 3331-4111), is located 12 kilometres from the city centre.
Gol flies to/from Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, TAM offers roughly the same services, and flights to Campina.
PLUNA flies to Montevideo, Uruguay.

By Bus

Rodoviaria, Av. Paulo Fontes, 1101 (48) 3212-3100. In the city centre.

By Train

By Car

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

Most people in Floripa need a car to explore all the beaches and interesting spots. There are car rentals on the island but renting can be expensive as well, however it is well worthwhile since it makes exploring much simple and faster.

By Public Transport

From the city, dozens of buses go to all the beaches on the island. But the bus system has drawbacks since you now need to transfer at terminals to get around. The cost can be high as well and taking the bus can be very time consuming. There is an executive yellow bus that goes to centro from different beach cities and it is R4.50 each way and is direct.

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

• Cirrus: This "per kg" restaurant offers fresh homemade food for a very affordable price. It is a restaurant where locals of Praia Mole and Praia da Barra usually have everyday lunch. Mo to Fri, from 11.30 am to 3.00 pm. Sat and Sun, from 11.30 am to 4.00 pm.
• Cachoeira: This restaurant is in the secluded village of Costa da Lagoa, a fishing village that you can only reach hiking or per boat. The tables are on a deck over the lake, from where you have a splendid view to the lake and to the green mountains that surround it.
• Ostradamus Located in Riberão da Ilha, the main pole producer of oysters in Brazil, Ostradamus offers more than twenty options for preparing oysters la carte, such as oysters with melting cheese and oysters with green seasonings (parsley, tomato and onion). On Thursday´s nights there´s an "Oyster Festival", when more than 30 different kinds of oysters are prepared, including oysters with ginger and lemon. The restaurant has a unique system of cleaning the oysters, including filtering water and application of ultraviolet radiation, to eliminate any possibility of contamination. For those who prefer other dishes, you can find fishes and shrimps as well. High season: Mo to Su 12:00 - 23:00 Low season: Tu to Sa 12:00 - 23:00 ; Su 12:00 - 18:00.
• Ponta das Caranhas: Located in front of Lagoa da Conceição, with tables around the garden and a beautiful view, the restaurant has a friendly and pleasant atmosphere. In Ponta das Caranha's garden there´s a small playground for the children as well, what makes it perfect for families. Mo to Su 11:00 - 00:00.

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

• Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Post

Correios is the national postal service of Brazil. It is a government run postal service and overseen by the Brazilian Ministry of Communications. Post offices are generally open from Monday to Friday from 09:00am to 5:00pm, although post offices located in shopping malls have their own opening hours, usually from 10:00am to 10:00pm. There are no set opening hours at weekends and as post office owners can choose when to open and close. More and more post offices are open until 1:00pm on Saturdays though. You can check things at the nearest post office. Sending postcards, letters and parcels is a rather straightforward process and services are reliable, though not overly fast when sending post internationally, mostly taking about a week to the USA and Europe, and there is a track-and-trace service for this as well. Domestically, there are both next day as well as more expensive same day delivery options. Stamps are available at post offices, as well as some kiosks or other places where they sell postcards.