Florianópolis

Photo © ChrisPTY

Introduction

Florianopolis 4

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 43,650 km² (54 kilometres by 18 kilometres) and a small peninsula on the mainland, with 1,210 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.

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Sights and Activities

Beaches

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 kilometres 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.

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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 (3.8 kilometres)/Bike (180 kilometres)/Run (42 kilometres), this event happens every year in the island of Florianopolis since 2001, and brings people from all over the wolrd, 1,450 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.

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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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg Max	28 °C	28.4 °C	27.5 °C	25.4 °C	23 °C	20.9 °C	20.4 °C	20.7 °C	21.2 °C	22.9 °C	24.8 °C	26.6 °C
Avg Min	21.4 °C	21.8 °C	20.7 °C	18.3 °C	15.6 °C	13.4 °C	13.3 °C	14 °C	15.1 °C	16.9 °C	18.6 °C	20.3 °C
Rainfall	176.2 mm	197.7 mm	186.3 mm	96.6 mm	96.9 mm	75.2 mm	94.6 mm	92.5 mm	126.8 mm	126 mm	129.1 mm	146.2 mm
Rain Days	15	15	15	10	10	9	9	9	12	13	12	15

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Getting There

By Plane

Hercílio Luz International Airport (FLN) - Av. Diomício Freitas, 3393. (48) 3331-4000 (fax:(48) 3331-4111), is located 12 kilometres from the city centre. Gol flies to/from Belo Horizonte, Buenos Aires, Chapecó, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, TAM offers roughly the same services, and flights to Campinas. Several other airlines fly to mostly these destinations as well, and to a few other cities like Punta del Este, Montevideo and Santiago de Chile.

By Bus

Rodoviaria, Av. Paulo Fontes, 1101 (48) 3212-3100. In the city centre. It links Florianopolis City to the main Brazilian cities and to most of the cities in Santa Catarina state. The main bus companies operating in Florianopolis are Catarinense, Reunidas, Santo Anjo and Eucatur.
You can get to Florianopolis from Foz do Iguacu for R$115 to R$150. The night trip takes around 16 hours.

By Car

You should use the Route BR-101 (cross Brazil from north to south), the entrance to Florianopolis will be at kilometer 206, from there read the signs and get the express route BR-282 which leads to Florianopolis

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Getting Around

By Car

Most people in Florianopolis 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.

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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. Monday to Friday, from 11:30am to 3:00pm Saturday and Sunday, from 11:30 am to 4:00pm.
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: Monday to Sunday 12:00pm - 11:00pm Low season: Tuesday to Saturday 12:00pm - 11:00pm ; Sunday 12:00pm - 6:00pm.
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. Monday to Sunday 11:00am - 12:00am.

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Drink

Most of the nightlife is concentrated around the beaches in the summer. During the winter, the night life is concentrated in Lagoa da Conceição, where most of the bars and clubs are located.

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Sleep

433 Backpackers Hostel, Av. Prefeito Acácio Garibaldi, 433, Lagoa da Conceição (at the end of Rendeiras at Lagoa da Conceição, go straight to Joaquina beach direction), ☎ +55 48 3232-4537. Delicious breakfast and internet wifi. Private rooms are with TV, frigobar and air-conditioner. Dorms R$30, doubles R$60 // low season.
Floriparadise Hostel, 5076, Avenida Luiz Boiteux Piazza, Ponta das Canas, ☎ +55 48 3284-1244. Situated in the north of the island, Floriparadise is the ultimate hostel for those wishing to be immersed in local culture and art. The hostel is directly across from the local beach while close by is the vibrant area of Ponta das Canas which turns into a tourist mecca in the summer. The hostel offers a variety of local activities and linen is included in the price as well as WiFi through out the whole hostel. Your hosts can also speak English which will help your travels immensely if you cannot speak Portuguese. Dorms start at R$25 Apartments start at R$.

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Learn

Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis

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Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafes (Lan houses) are increasingly common, and even small towns often have at least one spot with more or less decent connections.
An increasing number of hotels, airports and shopping malls also offer hotspots for Wi-Fi with your laptop computer or of course smartphone. Sometimes it is free, sometimes you need to register and there is a time limite and sometimes you need to pay a small amount for (day) use.

Phone

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.

For sending packages internationally, you can also used competitively priced private companies like TNT, UPS or DHL. They are generally much quicker and not much more expensive.

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