Gramado

Gramado is in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Southern Brazil. Although practically unknown abroad, Gramado is an extremely popular tourist destination for Brazilians due to its cool weather, European architecture, family-friendly activities and ecotourism options at the neighbor municipality of Canela.

Understand
Gramado is a municipality and a small tourist town, southeast of Caxias do Sul and east of Nova Petrópolis, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the mountainous region of Serra Gaúcha. Most of the population of Gramado is of German or Italian descent. Gramado is one of the cities on the scenic route known as Rota Romântica (Romantic Route). Along with the neighboring city of Canela, Gramado is part of the Região das Hortênsias (Hydrangeas Region).

Gramado hosts the Gramado Film Festival, a major South American film festival and Gramado's most important event. Gramado is also known for hydrangea blossoms in late spring. Another key event in Gramado is Natal Luz (in English, literally "Christmas of Lights"), an annual Christmas festival with a wide variety of attractions, including open-air Christmas parades, musical concerts, theater performances and a beautiful scenic Christmas decoration that lights up the entire city.

Climate
Thanks to its altitude of 850 meters (2,790 ft) and its southern location, Gramado has a mountainous temperate climate, with very cold winters and mild summers. Average temperatures in winter usually reach a low of 7.5 °C (45.5 ºF) and high of 17 °C (62.6 ºF). In summer, average temperatures vary between 13 °C (55 ºF) and 25 °C (77 ºF). However, it is not uncommon to have temperatures above 32º C (89,6 ºF). The average annual rainfall in the city is 1,996 mm (78.6 in). Rainfall occur uniformly throughout the year and cold fronts do not warn you before they arrive, so take an umbrella to protect yourself from the rain. In winter, Gramado can receive heavy frost, fog and occasional snow.

By plane
Gramado is served by two airports: Hugo Cantergiani Airport in Caxias do Sul and Salgado Filho International Airport  in Porto Alegre. Since 2021, Azul Conecta has been operating daily flights between Porto Alegre to the small Canela Airport, in the neighbor city of Canela, which is also mainly used by private planes and air taxi operators.

Hugo Cantergiani Airport is a small airport serving Caxias do Sul and, it's some 60 km (37 mi) away from Gramado. CXJ has flights connecting only two destinations: Viracopos Airport, in Campinas, operated by Azul, and São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport , in Guarulhos, operated by Gol. Because of that, CXJ tends to be more relaxed on baggage overweight. In general, flights to CXJ are cheaper than those flying to POA. Infrastructure for visitors is minimal.

Salgado Filho International Airport is the busiest airport in Rio Grande do Sul and southern Brazil. It's located 95.6 km (59.4 mi) southwest of Gramado. POA has a modern infrastructure, with a food court, stores, banks, etc. POA is connected to several Brazilian and South American cities. As POA has more commercial flights than CXJ and it is well served by bus to Gramado (some services also calling Porto Alegre International Airport), many Brazilian travelers simply fly to Porto Alegre and take a comfortable executive bus to Gramado.

By bus
Gramado is served by Citral, which has the franchise to explore intercity bus services in Gramado and Canela area. Most Citral buses on the route Gramado-Porto Alegre also call at POA airport (buy your ticket at arrival floor, on the bus ticket booth to the right of the Citral travel agency).

Gramado Bus Station is located on Avenida Borges de Medeiros and is close to many of the city's attractions. Taxis wait for passengers on the bus platform side, whereas Uber-like services wait near the pedestrian access.

By car
The main access route between Porto Alegre and Gramado is via the BR-116 and RS-373 highways. An alternative route that also connects Porto Alegre and Gramado are the RS-020 and RS-115 highways. This route has tolls on some stretches.

Carpooling offers on the Porto Alegre-Gramado route are frequent, and the most popular carpooling platform in the region is BlaBlaCar.

By car
Driving your own vehicle is the most effective way to visit attractions outside the city center, or going to the Parque do Caracol or the neighboring city of Canela. There are several car rental agencies around the city.

By bus
Public buses are operated by Gramado Turismo (Portuguese only). They are cheap, but meant for locals, not for visitors, and are hardly useful to visit tourist attractions. Information about public bus routes online is almost non-existent, although you may try to seek local for help if you are on a tight budget and has thus to seriously consider taking a public bus.

An alternative is to use the hop-on hop-off tourist bus service, provided by BusTour, which runs circular routes between Gramado and Canela, passes through several tourist spots, including the Parque do Caracol. As of Sep 2016, a day ticket costs R$ 49, and it can be conveniently purchased at your hotel, at the bus stop, or directly from the bus driver. The disadvantages of the hop-on hop-off bus are that it is rather unfrequent (30 to 55 minutes intervals) and it only runs during daytime.

On foot
The city center of Gramado, which contains many of the city's attractions, shopping and gastronomy, can be easily and it's better explored on foot. It's recommended to stay in a hotel in this area if you don't have your own vehicle.

See
The area of main touristic interest is along Av. Borges de Medeiros, where sit the St. Peter church, the Festivals Palace, Covered Street, several restaurants, shops and squares.

Stay safe
As a relatively developed tourist city, Gramado is a safer city by the standards of most Brazilian cities. There are no cases of violent crimes against tourists and it is not dangerous to walk the streets alone at night. However, be careful anyway, use common sense and don't carry around with valuables or jewelry exposed in public, as this can attract the attention of pickpockets.

Go next

 * Canela - Go to great waterfall in Parque do Caracol (Snail Ecological Park) and the Parque da Ferradura (Horseshoe Ecological Park). The tourist-oriented city center is also quite enjoyable.
 * Nova Petrópolis - Small city populated by German descendants. Not as picturesque as Gramado, but more authentic