Rota Romantica - Gramado - panoramio (2)

The Rota Romântica () is a scenic

tourist route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist route, tourist drive, holiday route, theme route, or scenic byway is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints ...

that runs through 13 municipalities located in the

Serra Gaúcha The Serra Gaúcha (''Gaucho Highlands'') is a cultural region comprising the mountainous areas in the northeastern portion of Rio Grande do Sul state in southern Brazil. Most of its inhabitants are of German and Italian ancestry. Consequently, th ...

region of the southernmost

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian state of

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

. The area was first colonized by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s in the first half of the 19th century, and the strong German influence can still be seen in each of the towns and villages. The Germanic roots are visible in the architecture, gastronomy and occasionally in the accent and language (

Riograndenser Hunsrückisch Hunsrik (natively and Portuguese ''Hunsrik'' or ''Hunsrückisch''), also called ''Riograndenser Hunsrückisch'' or ''Katharinensisch'', is a Moselle Franconian language derived primarily from the Hunsrückisch dialect of West Central German. T ...

) of the region. The Rota Romântica is approximately 184 km (about 114 miles) in distance and extends from

São Leopoldo São Leopoldo () (Portuguese for ''Saint Leopold'') is a Brazilian industrial city located in the south state of Rio Grande do Sul. Geography It occupies a total area of 103.9 km² (around 80 km² urban area) at ''circa'' 30 km fro ...

to São Francisco de Paula. The 13 municipalities along the route are:

Novo Hamburgo Novo Hamburgo (Portuguese for ''New Hamburg''; german: Neu-Hamburg) is a municipality in the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, the state capital. As of 2020, its population was 247, ...

Estância Velha Estância Velha is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the South Region of Braz ...

Ivoti Ivoti is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, located in the Porto Alegre metropolitan area. The population is 24,690 (2020 est.) in an area of 63.15 km². History Originally occupied by indigenous people since 12,0 ...

Dois Irmãos Dois Irmãos is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its original German name was ''Baumschneis''.http://www.doisirmaos.rs.gov.br/historia.php Publishing The Catholic subscription book club Minha Biblioteca Católica was c ...

, Morro Reuter,

Santa Maria do Herval Santa Maria do Herval ( Hunsrick: Teewald) is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located i ...

Presidente Lucena Presidente Lucena is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the South Region of Bra ...

, Picada Café,

Nova Petrópolis Nova Petrópolis is a municipality in the Southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The main seat of the municipality is also called Nova Petrópolis. It is located in the Serra Gaúcha region, at 29º22'35" South, 51º06'52" West, about ...

Gramado Gramado is a small tourist city, southeast of Caxias do Sul and east of Nova Petrópolis in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the Serra Gaúcha region. The city was originally settled by Azorean descendants and later receive ...

Canela Canela may refer to: Places * Canela, Rio Grande do Sul, a town in Brazil * Canela, Chile, a commune in Chile * La Canela, a legendary location in South America * Isla Canela, an island in Andalusia, Spain Other uses * Canela (surname), in ...

, São Francisco de Paula, and Linha Nova. The cities of

, and São Francisco de Paula are also included in the

Região das Hortênsias The Região das Hortênsias, in English "Hydrangea Flower Region", is a tourist destination in the Serra Gaúcha region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The cities in this region are: Nova Petrópolis, Gramado, Canela and São Fran ...

, one of Brazil's tourist hot spots and very popular throughout the country in the winter and holiday seasons, for its breath-taking scenery, rich European cultural heritage and picturesque architecture.

External links

The Rota Romântica
Tourist attractions in Rio Grande do Sul Geography of Rio Grande do Sul Scenic routes {{RioGrandedoSul-geo-stub