The 10 Best Petrópolis Day Trips from Rio

1.Petrópolis Day Trip with Optional Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 203 reviews · 12 hours · from $48Our pick

Travel from Rio to cool, mountain-ringed Petrópolis for a full day of imperial sights. Your multilingual guide leads you through the Imperial Museum, cathedral, Crystal Palace, and more. Choose lunch and the Bohemia Brewery, with guides such as Rafael, Julio, and Mama Chris praised for clear, caring explanations.

“It was overall a nice day, Rafael was my guide and was very kind and good at explaining everything As I was the only English speaker he always made sure I was included and never left out. Petropolis is a great get away from the busy streets of Rio. A must for anyone interested in history”

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2.Petrópolis Day Trip from Rio de Janeiro including Imperial Museum and Crystal Palace

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 101 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $93

Travel from Rio to Petrópolis with hotel pickup, a multilingual guide, and admission to the Imperial Museum. See the cathedral, royal tombs, Crystal Palace, Quitandinha Palace, and optional Santos Dumont House, Rua Teresa shopping, or Bohemia Brewery. Expect a full day and a long ride.

“enjoyed the trip, very outgoing tour leader. Packed day, quite long.”

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3.Imperial City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 95 reviews · 9 - 10 hours · from $68

Travel from Rio to Petrópolis by air-conditioned bus with a guide in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. Visit Quitandinha Palace, the Imperial Museum, the imperial mausoleum, Crystal Palace, Santos Dumont’s house, and the Flowers Watch. Add Brazil’s oldest beer factory for tastings.

“I enjoyed most was the Imperial Palace tour next was the beer brewery tour.”

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4.Petropolis The Imperial City with Beer tour and Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 83 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $59

Spend about 10 hours traveling from Rio to Petrópolis with an accredited guide, visiting the Imperial Museum, cathedral, Crystal Palace, and Bohemia Brewery. Rafael has guided this route in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Lunch, transport, museum entry, brewery entry, and three tastings are included.

“This was an impromptu outing which turned out to be quite interesting. Rafael, the guide, was really enthusiastic about doing his job; in Portuguese, English and Spanish, nonetheless. He was able to keep it light yet intellectually challenging for the duration of the whole program; which lasted approximately 8 hours. I went on this tour with my wife and sister. My sister and I are Brazilians and my wife is American. Rafael’s quality of service managed to please us all despite our individual cultural and educational differences. I feel the same can be said of the other participants in the group.”

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5.The Imperial City with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 59 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $56

Travel from Rio to Petrópolis for a 10-hour history-and-scenery day. Visit the Imperial Museum, São Pedro de Alcântara Cathedral, Crystal Palace, and Quitandinha Palace from outside, with a Brazilian buffet lunch included. Guide Julio has led some departures, though English service should be confirmed.

“Overall, the experience is good but nothing exceptional. Areas to improve: The microphone inside the van was working very poorly, so it was difficult to understand the guide's directions and instructions. On tour, the microphone is the most basic thing that should work well, and it didn't. It may seem like a minor detail, but it makes the tourist's experience uncomfortable when trying to understand the stories the guide tells during the tour. The visit to the Palace was fine, perhaps a little tedious due to the amount of information they usually give and the discomfort of walking inside the Palace in those slippers, a requirement not even met at…”

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6.Petropolis Bohemia: Historic tour and visit to the Bohemian Brewery

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 45 reviews · from $58

Travel from Rio to Petrópolis for the Imperial Museum, cathedral, Crystal Palace, Quitandinha Palace, and an optional Santos Dumont house visit. Finish at Bohemia Brewery with a guided factory tour and three beer tastings. Guide Gabriel has provided clear English explanations.

“Our guide was great. Got to see all the important parts of Petropolis. However, the bus driver was unsafe. He was regularly looking at his phone while driving, checking WhatsApp and leaving messages. At one point he was looking at photos on another persons phone while driving at speed in merging traffic, and nearly crashed.”

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7.Guided Tour to the Imperial Cida of Petrópolis with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 44 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $80

Spend about 10 hours in Petrópolis with a bilingual guide, visiting the Imperial Museum, Santos Dumont’s home, Crystal Palace, and the cathedral. Lunch, transport, and several admission fees are included. Expect a shared group, early pickup, mountain roads, and possible schedule changes.

“Went to Petropolis and seen a few historical sites and the guide was informative about the history of the town and its connection to Brazils early days. Beer tasting was cool, the brewery was a fun part of the tour.”

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8.Imperial Petrópolis – Historic Tour + Teresa Street and Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 44 reviews · 9 hours (approx.) · from $57

Travel from Rio to mountain-set Petrópolis for the Imperial Museum, cathedral, Crystal Palace, Santos Dumont’s quirky home, and Rua Teresa shopping. The tour includes museum entry, a free buffet lunch, and air-conditioned transport. Guides such as Aldo and Adriana have provided multilingual help.

“Very interesting tour. We learnt a lot about Brazil history. The guide was very good and invest time for wide background and explanations. We were the only English speaking in the tour and we got special attention from the guide”

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9.Historic Petrópolis From Rio: The Imperial City –Palaces, Architecture & Culture

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 32 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $296Top rated

Travel from Rio to Petrópolis in a private vehicle with a licensed guide. See Quitandinha Palace, the Imperial Museum, cathedral, Santos Dumont’s home, Crystal Palace, Bohemia Brewery, and Rua Teresa. Guides such as Bruno and Newton add local history and practical advice.

“Imperdível! Guia Newton muito atencioso e conhecedor. Petrópolis tem uma história arquitetônica riquíssima, vale muito a pena conhecer a Cidade Imperial.”

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10.Full-Day Tour to The Imperial City of Petrópolis

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 6 reviews · 10 hours · from $96

Travel from Rio to Petrópolis with a multilingual guide and explore Brazil’s former imperial summer capital. Visit the Imperial Museum, Saint Peter of Alcântara Cathedral, Crystal Palace, and optional Santos Dumont House or Bohemia Beer Factory. Museum admission is included, while other tickets and meals cost extra.

“It was a wonderful tour with a knowledgeable guide, Tanya Uhlala. Nice, mild weather and a place where you can see how mixed is Brazilian culture in a very positive way.”

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