Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre needs 2 days: touring the Mercado Público and the historic center by the Guaíba on one, and watching the sunset from Usina do Gasômetro, a former power plant converted into a cultural center, on the other. March-May and September-November bring the mildest weather. It's mid-priced by Brazilian standards. Rio Grande do Sul's capital sits on the Guaíba -locally called a river though technically a lake fed by five rivers-, and its sunsets over the water, with the Gasômetro's chimney silhouette, are considered by locals themselves among the prettiest in Brazil.