This optional excursion will introduce you to all the highlights of the delightful city of Belém, beginning with a visit to Brazil’s largest open-air market: Ver-O-Peso Market. Take a guided walk through this sprawling market, one of the city’s most beloved landmarks encompassing four city blocks and filled with stalls offering traditional foods and artisanal goods such as handmade pottery, handicrafts, and clothing. You’ll find wholly original souvenirs and gifts here, including charms inspired by macumba, a form of voodoo practiced in Brazil.
From the market you’ll head to Forte do Castelo, a Portuguese military fortification that dates back to the early 17th century. It was constructed on the highest point of the city to protect the new colony against Dutch and French occupation.
After your fortress visit, you’ll continue on to the Emilio Goeldi Zoo & Botanical Park, 12-acre museum, zoo, and research centers dedicated to the study of indigenous Amazonian species from white-whiskered squirrel monkeys to anaconda and more. Boasting more than 1,500 samples of plant species and over 1,600 types of fruit trees that grow in the region, the facility also houses an aviary and small aquarium.
On the return drive to your hotel, you will make a stop at the Basilica of Our Lady of Nazareth of Exile, a minor basilica constructed during the early 20th-century Amazonian rubber boom. It is a replica of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls located in Rome and renowned for its architecture, stained-glass windows, and beautiful altar.
Due to high call volume, we recommend you visit MyPortfolio to book this Destination Enhancement. Don’t wait — these optional experiences are limited to a select number of guests and are selling out fast!
