Are you planning a trip to Florianópolis but is not sure what to visit on this fabulous island?
On this post I will highlight what we did and visited during the 2 days we spent in Florianópolis, capital of the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil.
On this trip we had already visited Balneário Camboriú, Blumenau and Pomerode, and continuing the trip our next stop was Florianópolis.
We were travelling independently with a hired car as we are confident travellers and speak the language. However, if you prefer to be part of a tour and to have everything organised for you, I advise you to book a complete tour with Tourradar.
They have different kinds of tours that will fit your time and budget. If you book it via my links you can get a discount by using this code: RoseG50.
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We left the flat in Balneário Camboriú early in the morning and took the BR-101 direction south. This time we didn’t get too much traffic, and we arrived in Florianópolis in about one and half hours.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT FLORIANÓPOLIS
Florianópolis is an island and the capital of the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil. It is also known by the nicknames of “Floripa” and “Magic Island”.
The first inhabitants of the area were the Carijós Indians. The first Portuguese landed there in 1514, and a settlement was created in 1673. It became a village in 1714 and received the name “Nossa Senhora do Desterro”. It became a town only in 1726.
From 1747 to 1756 about 6000 settlers from Azores and Madeira Island arrived in the town contributing to the development of agriculture, cotton and linen industry. In 1823 “Nossa Senhora do Desterro” became the capital of the state and enjoyed a period of great prosperity.
The Portuguese heritage is reflected everywhere especially in certain villages like Santo Antonio de Lisboa that we visited on the day we arrived. Germans are the second immigrator’s influence and Italians are the third.
The name Florianópolis came from the name of Marchal Floriano Peixoto, that was the second President of Brazil from 1891 to 1894. In 1893 the name of the town was changed to “Florianópolis”.
Tourism plays an important part in the town’s economy. Florianópolis receives a great number of tourists from Brazil and from other South American countries.
Information Technology is also important to the economy and Florianópolis is aiming to become the Silicon Valley of Brazil.
Florianópolis became one of the most visited places in Brazil blending its natural beauty with the rich culture and modernity. The island is home of 42 stunning beaches, lagoons and waterfalls attracting increasing numbers of tourists every year.
Beyond the beaches, Florianópolis is a playground for nature lovers. Hikers can explore trails leading to secluded beaches or breathtaking viewpoints, such as the famous “Lagoinha do Leste” trail. For the more adventurous, the island offers paragliding, sandboarding on the dunes of “Joaquina Beach”, and kayaking in the mangroves.
Florianópolis is also home to the “Projeto TAMAR” which is a project to protect the sea turtles from extinction in Brazil’s coastline. This project also exists in other parts of Brazil.
If you have time, it is worth visiting the project to watch the turtles that had been rescued, the feeding of the turtles and other activities in their centre.
If visiting the turtle project is not enough, you can also book to dive with the turtles while there. This activity is at the Xavier Island just off Florianópolis and it offers safe and educational diving with experienced instructors. Book this activity HERE.
INTERESTING FACT:
One of the beaches of Florianópolis, Campeche, has an interesting connection with the worldwide French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of “The Little Prince”.
This is because when he was a pilot for L’Aéropostale flying from Paris to Buenos Aires, he used to stop at Campeche and to stay at one of the local hotels called “Hotel Zeperri”. However, this hotel was showing as permanently closed on Google when I checked.
He became friends with the fisherman in the village and they used to call him “Zeperri” as they couldn’t pronounce his name correctly. Today the main street in Campeche is called “Avenida Pequeno Principe” (Little Prince Avenue) in his honour.
Below is a map showing the places we visited in Florianópolis:
VISITING FLORIANÓPOLIS
When we arrived, we went straight to the Historic Centre of town and parked the car near the market.
The “Mercado Público de Florianópolis” is one of the most popular touristic points. The first market was inaugurated in 1851, but a second one was constructed and inaugurated in 1899.
In 1931 it was extended with the addition of the south wing. In 2005 there was a big fire in the market destroying all the interior of the north wing. The market had to be reconstructed at the time and the last big refurbishment was between 2013 and 2015.
Nowadays the market houses lots of bars and restaurants and lots of box style shops selling all kinds of merchandise.
We visited the market and looked at all shops including a very nice one selling lovely souvenirs in The Association of Plastic Artists in front of the market. They have very beautiful, hand-made art worth buying.
From there we walked to “Praça XV de Novembro” nearby. On this square you will find the oldest Fig Tree in town. The tree dates from 1891 and takes proud place in the middle of the square.
On the same square you will find the “Santa Catarina History Museum – Cruz e Souza Palace”. The building used to be the Governors’ Palace and is from the 18th century.
The building was refurbished at the end of the 18th century and lost the original colonial architecture gaining more decorative elements such as statutes to the façade. It became a museum since 1986 and became “Palácio Cruz e Souza”, to honour a great poet from Santa Catarina.
WORTH KNOWING:
In a building next to the palace, you could see a beautiful mural showcasing the poet Cruz e Souza by the artist Rodrigo Rizo. The mural has been there since 2019 and we visited in April 2024.
However, while researching to write this blog, I discovered that the mural is not there anymore (October 2024). Apparently, the building was having water penetration and needed to go through a comprehensive refurbishment. It was discovered that it was not possible to save the mural. It was a shame to loose such a nice piece of art.
Unfortunately, there is no indication that the mural will be re-painted in future.
On the same square you will encounter the “Catedral Metropolitana de Florianópolis Nossa Senhora do Desterro”.
The Cathedral was built in 1773 and passed through various refurbishments becoming a Cathedral in 1908. In 1922 it had another big refurbishment with very significant alterations that gave the appearance the cathedral has today.
It is a beautiful building sitting proudly in a higher position and accessed by many steps leading to the entrance.
We visited the Cathedral on the inside and outside and were very impressed with the decorated interior.
After visiting the Cathedral, we took the car and drove to a viewpoint on “Praça Hercilio Luz”. This is a Lookout Point where you have beautiful views of the “Hercilio Luz Bridge”.
If you don’t have much time in Florianópolis, I suggest this Floripa City Tour by bus. This tour will take you to various places in the Historic Centre and will drive you to various beaches as well. Although you will not have much time on each place, you would still be able to see many places in Floripa.
After many photos we carried on and drove to the north of the island in the direction of Santo Antonio de Lisboa.
Santo Antonio de Lisboa is located on the west coast of the island and just north of the centre of Florianópolis. It was funded by the Portuguese that came from Azores and to this day still preserves the culture and heritage of these immigrants.
The architecture is mainly Portuguese colonial, and the feeling of a small village is preserved with the calm waters of the small beach and the attractive atmosphere of the place.
It was lunch time, and we first chose a restaurant in front of the beach for lunch. We chose a Portuguese restaurant called Marisqueira Sintra. We sat on the tables next to the beach and the views were amazing. The day was beautiful and that was the ideal place to enjoy lunch.
We ordered a mixture of seafood plates and shared them. The food was delicious, and we enjoyed everything we ordered. Oysters are a very popular dish on the area.
After lunch we explored the little village on foot admiring the colonial houses and arrived at “Igreja Nossa Senhora das Necessidades” (Church of Our Lady of Needs).
It is a small church, but very charming and beautiful. It was created in 1750 in an Azores style and although small is one of the most beautiful of Florianópolis.
After strolling and exploring the nice lanes and shops of Santo Antonio de Lisboa, we decided it was time to continue with our trip and headed further north, to Canasvieiras Beach.
There is a tour that covers the north of the island. It will last the whole day and you visit the following: Jurerê Internacional, Canasvieiras, Praia do Santinho, Santo Antonio de Lisboa and the historic Fortress São José da Ponta Grossa. Book this tour HERE.
We booked a little house in a private condominium in front of the beach on Canasvieiras beach, and it was reserved via Booking.com. We were not very luck with the properties we booked on this trip as this one was a bit of a disappointment as well as the one, we booked in Balneário Camboriú.
Location was first class, no complaints, but the comfort and the cleanness a let-down. The TV didn’t work, the internet was very bad, and it lacked the comfort you expect from a holiday property. It doesn’t mean that the properties were cheap, they were even expensive as we were out of season.
We arrived late in the afternoon and checked in. We later walked on the beach and checked out the main street looking at the shops and the area. April is out of season and many shops and restaurants were closed at this time of the year.
We noticed a nice pizzeria open called Il Cantuccio on the main street and got their number to order pizzas later. We ordered the pizzas later that night and ate-in.
The following day started with rain, and it kept raining for the whole day. Florianópolis is not a place for rainy days as when you think about it all that comes to your mind is beach, beach and more beach.
The plan was to enjoy Canasvieiras beach in the morning and after lunch to drive to other beaches nearby. However, the rain spoiled our plans, and we couldn’t enjoy the beach as planned. Instead, we took the car and drove to other beaches anyway, just to have a look and imagine how it would be in a sunny day.
We drove to Praia de Jurerê Internacional and Praia dos Ingleses. We then drove south to Lagoa da Conceição, but the rain made it impossible to enjoy or do anything. Many places were closed, and the wind was unbearable. We just drove back to Canasvieiras Beach and chose a kilo restaurant for lunch.
Although we were not able to visit any of the other beaches, I’ve heard that Campeche Beach, Praia Mole, Armação Beach and Lagoinha do Leste are all worth visiting if the weather is good and you have time. Some of the beaches are only reachable by hiking.
There is a hiking tour to “Lagoinha do Leste” beach that I would definitely have done if it was not raining and if we had a bit more time. It will take you to “Lagoinha do Leste Natural Park”, “Morro da Coroa”, “Lagoinha do Leste Beach” and different trails on the Atlantic Forest. Book this one HERE.
As the rain didn’t stop, we went back to the house and just rested for the remaining of the afternoon and evening. On the following day we checked-out of the house and drove back to Pontal do Paraná. Ironically it was not raining the following day, and it was a very nice sunny day!
On the way back we stopped at Restaurante San Remo on Praia das Caieiras in Guaratuba. We had a lovely lunch there also facing the ocean and the beach. It was just bliss!!
And this way we finished our trip to the state of Santa Catarina. We still spent a few days with my brother in Pontal do Paraná before driving back to our flat in São Vicente, SP.
I hope this post will give you some idea of what can be done in two days in Florianópolis and will help you plan your own visit there.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TRIP
Below you will find a list of what to visit, where to stay and where to eat in Florianópolis. I classified each place as follows:
BOLD – Visited, tried and recommended
NOT BOLD – Not visited or tried, but planning to visit or try and heard very good reviews
RED – Visited and tried but do not recommend, avoid or be cautious
*** – Excellent
** – Good
* – OK
£££ – Expensive
££ – Fair and affordable
£ – Cheap
PLEASE NOTE: Every hotel, restaurants and attractions I mention on my blogs are not sponsored reviews and we always paid the full price when visiting. We give our own opinion of the place and detail our experience, good or bad.
WHAT TO SEE
ATTRACTIONS
1 – Mercado Público de Florianópolis – ***
2 – XV de Novembro Square and the Fig Tree – ***
3 – Santa Catarina History Museum/Cruz e Souza Palace
4 – Catedral de Florianópolis Nossa Senhora do Desterro – ***
5 – Lookout Point to see Hercilio Luz Bridge – ***
6 – Santo Antonio de Lisboa – ***
7 – Canasvieiras Beach – ***
8 – All other beaches mentioned or not mentioned here
WHERE TO STAY
ACCOMMODATION
1 – Águas do Santinho (apartment) – 4* – ££
2 – Apto lindo Beira-Mar – 4* – ££
3 – Faial Prime Suites – 4* – ££
4 – Cris Hotel – 3* – ££
5 – Boulevard Beach Canasvieiras Hotel – 4* – ££
6 – Slaviero Ingleses Convention – 4* – ££
If you prefer to look for your own accommodation, search and book via the below widget:
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WHERE TO EAT
RESTAURANTS
1 – Marisqueira Sintra – Santo Antonio de Lisboa – ££ – ***
2 – Il cantuccio Pizzeria – Canasvieiras – £ – ***
3 – Ostradamus – ££
4 – La Cave Restaurante e wine bar – ££
5 – Restaurante Pier 54 – £££
6 – Churrasco Ao Vivo – Canasvieiras – ££
If you tried any of my recommendations above, please send me a message and tell me about your experience good or bad, so I can update the list accordingly. Thanks!
If you enjoyed reading this post you might also like to read:
On this trip to Brazil:
1 – Itu – São Paulo State
2 – Guaratuba – Paraná State
3 – Balneário Camburiú – Santa Catarina State
4 – Blumenau and Pomerode – Santa Catarina State
5 – Florianópolis – Santa Catarina State
6 – Caverna do Diabo – Eldorado – São Paulo State – Coming Soon
7 – Guarujá – São Paulo State – Coming Soon
8 – Aparecida do Norte – São Paulo State – Coming Soon
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