The City of Florianopolis

Florianópolis is the capital city of Santa Catarina State and lies on the island of the same name at the closest point to the mainland, connected by three bridges just a few hundred metres long. One of them doesn’t support traffic any more but provides a nice backdrop for those entering the island by road for the first time. The lights hanging from the supports of Ponte Hercílio Luz make it look particularly charming at night with headlands jutting into the North Bay behind.

Both the long distance and the local bus terminals are just across the bridge on the edge of the South Bay. Across the main road to the south of the island, the city centre begins. Within a short walk of the terminals, the courtyard of the Municipal Market is always bustling with people, sometimes with live music. A couple of blocks up the hill are the main shopping streets and Praça 15 de Novembro, the main square with a fig tree so large that one of the two city football teams is named after it.

The Metropolitan Cathedral is at the north end of the square. These areas contain most of the remaining colonial buildings of the city as well as banks and government buildings. The city is one of the most modern capitals in Brazil and also one of the most relaxed.

As well as the usual city amenities, Florianópolis does have a little more to offer, especially from the top of Morro do Cruz. The Hill of the Aerials might be a more appropriate name for it these days, as the height of the hill that dominates the city make it the perfect strategic point for radio and television masts. The road up the hill takes buses and cars, and the fantastic views from the top take in the mainland beaches and peninsulas, the city and bridges below to the distant peaks of the south.

Behind the hill are the residential areas of Trindade, Pantanal and Itacorubi, with the two universities UFSC and UDESC allowing students from all over Brazil to come and study in Floripa. Or not, as the case often is with students, and many late-opening bars and chopperias in these areas are the perfect reason to miss daytime classes.

North of the bridges, the Beira Mar Norte runs alongside the calm sea with wide lanes for traffic, walkers, joggers and cyclists separating the city´s affluent apartment buildings and shopping centres from the shallow beaches. Bars and restaurants line one side of the road which takes you along the highway to the northern beaches or across the centre hills to the lagoon and the eastern beaches.

The road running between the bus terminals and the market passes the Sambodromo, home of the Florianópolis Carnaval, and hugs the coast of Baia Sul all the way to the southern tip of the island. It also takes traffic to Florianópolis Airport, Aeroporto Hercílio Luz, 12km to the south.