Gramado and Canela: How We Spent Thanksgiving in Brazil

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Spending Thanksgiving weekend in Brazil’s “Christmas City” capped the end of our one month in southern Brazil. We ended up here because I wanted to do something special in Brazil during our four-day Thanksgiving weekend. Originally, I had tried booking tours of the canyons of the Serra Gaúcha in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state. But with both tour guides flaking on me, I was left to do my own planning.

After asking ChatGPT for some recommendations, I decided to spend our four-day weekend in the quaint mountain towns of Gramado, Canela, and Nova Petrópolis. 

These three towns look nothing like “Brazil.” Instead, think of a cross between a high-end mountain resort town, Disney World, and a Swiss chalet, all with a thick layering of Christmas cheer. Anyone I showed our photos to had the same reaction: “This isn’t Brazil!” But was it worth it?

In this post, I detail our four days spent in the Serra Gaúcha, as this region is called. I go over how to get there, what to do, and ultimately, give my opinion on whether it is worth the trip.

How We Structured Our 4 Days in Gramado and Canela

Gramado, Canela, and Nova Petrópolis are in the Brazilian mountain area known as the Serra Gaúcha (pronounced SEH-ha GOW-sha), around 3,000 feet above sea level. This region sits at about the same latitude as northern Texas and Southern California. As such, it is far from the tropical beaches of Rio de Janeiro and northern Brazil that foreigners imagine when they think of Brazil. However, it is also a rainforest area, known as Mata Atlântica. (Fun fact: Gramado and Canela translate to grass and cinnamon, respectively, in Brazilian Portuguese.)

At the same time, at only 3,000 feet above sea level, and at a relatively mild latitude, it is not a snowy Alpine resort. Snow is possible during the winter. But when we went at the end of spring (seasons are opposite in the southern hemisphere), the temperature was in the mid to upper 80s and very sunny. And yet, because of the rain it gets, it is surrounded by lush rainforests. It is hard to really describe in a sentence. 

The three towns are also part of the Rota Romântica (Romantic Route), which is famous in Brazil but not well known elsewhere. Wineries and vineyards are famous in this area, but not specifically in Gramado and Canela, which are more famous for chocolate. The main wineries are closer to Caxias do Sul and Bento Gonçalves.

Given that we had four days during Thanksgiving, this is how we structured our trip:

Thursday morning: took the 11am bus leaving Rodoviária Porto Alegre. Arrived in Gramado around 1:30pm and then had lunch. Took an Uber to our hotel in Canela, rested, then we took an Uber back to Gramado. Walked around downtown and then had dinner in Gramado.

Friday: Spent the day and night taking in the sights in Canela, including walking around Downtown Canela and two Uber trips outside the city. Dinner in Canela.

Saturday: Day trip to Nova Petrópolis (left Gramado on the 12pm bus, returned on the 4:30pm bus). Spent the evening walking around Downtown Gramado.

Sunday: Took the 10:15am bus from Gramado to Porto Alegre. Had lunch in Porto Alegre. Our flight left at 6pm for Santiago de Chile.

Here are our notes about this itinerary:

• I am glad we went to Nova Petrópolis to check it out. But there is no need to go there unless you are craving small German towns or care deeply about German immigration to Brazil. For most people, I would spend the full day at attractions or hiking in Gramado and Canela.
• We had stayed several nights in Porto Alegre prior to this trip. That is why we originated on Thursday from the Rodoviária. But if you are arriving by plane, you could just take the airport bus or pick up your rental car at the airport to start your trip.
• And to be clear, there is no real need to spend much time in Porto Alegre. If you want to spend time before or after this trip, I would recommend Florianópolis. It is only a one-hour flight between Florianópolis and Porto Alegre, and there is much more to see.
• We stayed in one hotel the entire time. No need to change hotels between Gramado and Canela, everything is close by. Keep reading to learn more about my thoughts on each city.

Gramado: Theme-Park Europe

The whole reason ChatGPT told us to go to Gramado is because we went during November, which is “Natal Luz” season. “Christmas Lights” in Portuguese, Natal Luz is a special light parade the city puts on during November and December. It is very famous in Brazil and a large attraction. You must buy tickets in advance.

Of course, we did not see Natal Luz, as it seemed best for kids or people who love the spirit of Christmas, neither of which describes us. But I would not be doing the town justice by saying the whole trip revolves around this one parade. That is because the whole city is drowning in Christmas spirit. There is a picture of Santa Claus, a Christmas tree, or a candy cane everywhere you look. It is a real-life Santa’s Village, minus the snow (remember November and December are the end of Spring in Brazil).

For me, I liked Gramado – love is too strong a word here. The best part was the dense village feel of the Downtown area. Remove the Christmas decorations, and it is a very cool, very walkable city. The tourism also added a special feeling for me, as I really like visiting places that other people want to be in. There is magic in the collective feeling of being in a place that others love.

Downtown vs Outside Downtown

The first guide I was communicating with told me to skip Gramado entirely. He said it felt very fake and was like going to Disneyland. And yes, Gramado’s Downtown very much feels like a European version of Disneyland’s Main Street. He wasn’t wrong.

But there is a certain charm Downtown Gramado has that isn’t entirely fake. Clearly, the architecture is meant to evoke a Swiss or German Alpine village. And the Christmas decorations are very kitschy. But it was very walkable, with plenty of shops and restaurants that kept me quite occupied as an adult without kids.

Note that Downtown Gramado has three types of shops in abundance: chocolate shops, fondue restaurants, and high-end clothing stores. Thus, if you especially like any one of these three kinds of stores, you could easily spend all day here.

Now, outside of Downtown Gramado is where you find a lot of the theme park-type attractions. There is an NBA museum (yes, like American basketball), a space museum (yes, with NASA memorabilia), a Dinosaur theme park, and many nature parks. You won’t be able to walk to these places, but it’s very easy to Uber there, except for some of the lesser-known nature parks. It might be hard to get an Uber back, so you may want to ensure you have the number of an Uber driver on WhatsApp, or ask your hotel how to arrange a taxi if you can’t get an Uber.

Food and Restaurants

If you love fondue, you will love Gramado. There is a fondue restaurant on every corner, so no need to plan; you can just walk right up to one. Most have a set course consisting of appetizers with cheese fondue, then a course of meats, and then a round of fruit with chocolate fondue. The prices were set per person and generally ranged from US$25 to US$30 per person when we went (November 2025).

Because Gramado may have the highest density of fondue restaurants in the world, we had to eat at one. It was fine. One main problem we had was that our waiter told us the chocolate fondue contained gluten, which sucked since we eat a gluten-free diet. Thus, we had to eat our fruits au naturel. But the cheese fondue was gluten-free except for contamination (which is ok for us).

My other problem is that I generally don’t like meals that require work to eat it. I had to cook our own meat on the provided hot stone, meaning I was our own chef. I don’t like cooking in general, so having to still cook and pay for the right to do so is a big turn-off.

But clearly, many people love fondue, since most of the fondue restaurants were packed. And the food was good, except for the caveats above. We also ate at a poké place in Downtown Gramado called Hui! Poke House. It was quite good and a nice break from fondue.

Also, if you love chocolate, you will love Gramado. There are so many chocolate stores with tons of different types of chocolate. You will go crazy if you aren’t able to control your cravings. However, you will want to get your Brazilian açaí fix elsewhere.

And, if all else fails, you can eat at McDonald’s. (As an aside, Brazil has some very colorful McDonald’s. This chalet-inspired McDonald’s is nothing compared to the wild-themed Méqui 1000 (pronounced MEC-key) on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo.)

Canela: Nature + Cathedral + Less Polished

Canela is the lesser-known, smaller town in the Gramado-Canela region. That may change in the next few years as they seem to be building new places like crazy in Canela. 

We stayed in Canela, although on the outskirts of downtown, not actually in Downtown Canela. It was very easy to Uber to both Gramado and Canela. We stayed in Canela primarily because that is where the Doubletree hotel is, and we are Hilton loyalists. It was also cheaper – and probably a lot higher quality – than staying right in Downtown Gramado. The downside is that we had to Uber everywhere, whereas we could walk to places if we stayed in Downtown. But Ubering was not a problem.

First Impressions

Canela’s downtown is nowhere near as charming – or fake? – as Gramado. While Canela’s downtown is nice, it is mostly just charming as a small-town village, rather than for any specific reason. You could easily walk the whole thing in an hour or less. There really isn’t much to do compared to Gramado, although the Canela Cathedral seems to be a popular tourist spot right in Downtown.

Canela also has its share of Christmas decorations, fondue restaurants, and chocolate shops, but on a far lesser scale than Gramado. It is also far less busy and less touristy. I expect this to change over the next 5-10 years, but for the moment, it is more of a small village than an actual tourist attraction.

But Canela does have its share of tourist attractions on the outskirts. The NASA and NBA museums are both on the road to Canela from Gramado (yes, there is a *second* NBA museum in Canela, if the one in Gramado gets too busy). The Parque Ecológico is in Canela, along with the Bondinho (nature tram), but they are outside of the city and in the Serra Gaúcha Forest areas.

In fact, one reason I recommend staying in Canela – or at least having a meal or two in Canela – is to take a break from the crowds of Gramado. Remember, we visited during peak tourism season, and Downtown Gramado is packed with tourists. Canela doesn’t have that. It can act as a decompression relief valve.

Flor do Vale Parque Ecológico

The Serra Gáucha is part of the larger Mata Atlântica, or Atlantic Forest, region of Brazil. As such, a large part of Rio Grande do Sul – the state containing Gramado and Canela – is famous for hiking. I had wanted to go on a canyon hiking tour, but both of my tour guides flaked on me, so we couldn’t go. 

Instead, we hiked near Canela as a half-day trip. Note that many hiking destinations were either very touristy or out in the boonies. I don’t like the touristy places, because the point of hiking is to delve into nature, and that is hard to do when people are bumping into you every second and screaming kids running around you. Yet, since we didn’t have a car or a tour guide, I didn’t want to venture too far out of my comfort zone.

I found a place called Flor do Vale Parque Ecológico, which was close to Canela yet seemed to be more authentic than the other places. It turns out to be a cachaça brewery with hikes to some waterfalls (ka-SHA-sa is a sweet Brazilian alcohol). The entry fee was R$40 per person, or around US$7.50. 

At first, they ask you to tour some of the brewery buildings to learn more about cachaça. Unless you are truly into alcohol distillation, you can skip all of this. Instead, you can follow the path to get to the hikes to the waterfalls. Note that there are three hiking paths, all relatively short but definitely quite steep in places. 

We were only able to walk two of the three paths because it started raining heavily, and we didn’t want to risk getting caught in a flood (yes, this is an actual concern). However, the two paths were quite lovely, especially one of them that brought you down right next to the bottom of the waterfall. The people at the park said that because it was forecast to rain, no one came that Saturday morning. I don’t know if that is true, but the entire time it was just us and this other Brazilian couple (who later invited us to see a castle!). It was pretty amazing to be walking these trails alone and to be alone at the bottom of a waterfall.

Assuming Flor do Vale is on the quieter side, I think it is worth visiting if you want a more authentic hiking experience. Note that one of the trails is quite steep, even if it is not that long. Additionally, there is no cell phone service here, although WiFi is available at the main house. On the way there, our Uber driver warned us we may not be able to get an Uber back, and he gave us his phone number to WhatsApp him if we got stuck. Fortunately, the Brazilian couple that befriended us offered us a ride back to town since they had a car. Just be careful if you don’t have a car.

Castelinho Caracol

The Brazilian couple that we met at Flor do Vale were exceptionally nice – I mean, they truly couldn’t be nicer – and invited us to Castelinho Caracol since they were going there anyway. Translated to the “Little Castle of Caracol” in Portuguese, it is part museum, part gift shop, and part tea room. It is meant to show how the original German immigrants to the region lived, while also allowing you to partake in eating waffles and drinking their apparently famous Apple Tea. 

The entry fee here was also R$40, and I would recommend you spend your time elsewhere. I had very little interest in the subject matter to begin with. After visiting the place, it hasn’t changed. It is literally seeing a couple of small homes from the late 1800s, with furnishings inside. There is very little to learn, understand, or entertain yourself with. 

The restaurant on-site – the “tea room” – serves some baked goods and their famous Apple Tea. We ordered pão de queijo – gluten-free cheesebread that is very famous throughout Brazil – and chilled Apple Tea. Both items were delicious, but definitely no need to go out of your way and pay the entry fee on top of the cost of the food to eat it. You can get almost as good an experience by buying some pão de queijo and chá de maçã at a grocery store in Brazil and making it yourself. (And trust me, Kevin and I have eaten enough pão de queijo inside and outside of Brazil to know what good pão de queijo is like.)

Nova Petrópolis: Small-town Sleepiness

The week before we visited Gramado, we watched a YouTube video entitled “Nova Petrópolis: The Best City in Brazil”. It really excited me to visit. In reality, the four hours we spent there were more than enough.

The only claim to fame is its deep history of German migration, much like most of this area. But Nova Petrópolis really tries to honor it – sell it? – and that is the only tourist thing it has going for it in my opinion. 

In our four-hour stay, we walked across the entire city, ate lunch, and still had time to kill. Granted, we did not enter the Parque dos Imigrantes. I saw the R$38 per person entry fee (around US$7) and decided to skip it. Had I not gotten my fill of German immigration the day before, maybe I would have entered. But we did pass by the Parque and saw the main lake for free. 

There are a bunch of small shops that you would expect to find in a small village. There are eating places. That is it. At least with Canela, you can say Gramado is a short trip down the highway. Nova Petrópolis is in another area entirely.

Unless you truly want to explore German immigration or the small towns of the Serra Gaúcha, I would recommend just skipping Nova Petrópolis altogether. It has all of the small-town feel with none of the sights.

Getting There

If you do want to go, taking the Citral bus from Canela or Gramado is the only way other than by car. The Citral bus has only a few departures each day, so definitely confirm the schedule with the bus station. When we bought tickets in Gramado, the cashier had us take a photo of the return schedule so we could keep track of time. I strongly recommend you ask the cashier for the schedule.

As I note further down the page, you can buy bus tickets from Gramado to Nova Petrópolis, but not in the opposite direction. The only way to buy a bus ticket back to Gramado is to show up when the bus arrives and pay by credit card directly to the bus driver. When we went, there weren’t many passengers, so this wasn’t a problem. But I was just nervous not having a return ticket if the bus got busy or sold out. I was afraid of being stuck in Nova Petrópolis. But it seems like this really isn’t an issue on this line.

If you drive, it is a direct, highway trip between Gramado and Nova Petrópolis that takes about 40-45 minutes. It seemed pretty smooth and mostly goes through the countryside.

How to Get to Gramado and Canela

The easiest way to get to Gramado, Canela, and Nova Petrópolis is via Porto Alegre. Porto Alegre is the capital of Rio Grande do Sul and thus very easy to fly to from the rest of Brazil. Porto Alegre also has daily international flights to Santiago de Chile and seasonal flights to Argentina.

If you are coming from North America or Europe, the easiest way to get to Porto Alegre is to fly through São Paulo. North Americans may also fly through Santiago if the price is right. Either way, once in Porto Alegre, you have three options to get to Gramado, the largest city of the three: bus, rental car, or private transfer.

Bus from Porto Alegre

Citral (pronounced SEE-trau) is the primary bus company serving the route between Porto Alegre and Gramado. What is cool is that you can catch the bus at either the central Porto Alegre bus station (Rodoviária in Portuguese) or at the Porto Alegre airport. 

Citral has multiple buses daily between the two cities, so you have several options. While Citral advertises two hours as the duration, both of our bus trips took longer. I would budget at least 2.5 hours, and 3 hours if you really want to be safe.

Note that some of the Gramado buses continue to Canela. I didn’t realize this when I started, so I only booked to Gramado and then took an Uber to our hotel in Canela. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter as Ubers are plentiful and relatively cheap. But if you want to take the bus to Canela, make sure you check which buses continue to Canela.

If you are going to Nova Petrópolis, you will need to take the bus route headed to Caxias do Sul instead. I can’t emphasize this enough: Nova Petrópolis is not on the same bus route as Gramado and Canela. In fact, there is a separate Citral bus that runs between Gramado and Nova Petrópolis, taking 50 minutes.

Note: The bus from Porto Alegre departs from the central bus terminal (Rodoviária), then continues to the airport, and then goes to Gramado. But the bus from Gramado first goes to the Rodoviária, then to Porto Alegre airport. Do not be alarmed! But note that this also adds another 20-30 minutes to the trip if you are going from Gramado to the Airport.

We actually considered getting off the bus at the Rodoviária in Porto Alegre so we could catch an Uber to have lunch before going to the airport. But you can’t really do this on the fly if you have bags. This is because in Gramado, they will ask whether you are going to the Rodoviária or the Airport when you check your bag. The bus driver will put the bags in separate compartments. Thus, when we asked to get off at the Rodoviária, the bus driver got upset. He opened the compartment to show us that our bags were buried beneath everyone else’s. Thus, we got back on the bus and continued to the airport.

The buses are quite comfortable and standard for Brazilian intracity buses. The seats recline quite a bit, also known as semi-leito in Brazil (Leito is the highest class bus in Brazil and offers an almost fully reclining bed). Neither of our buses offered electric charging outlets, so keep that in mind. However, they do offer a bathroom on board, which is a nice feature.

Driving

You can also rent a car in Porto Alegre, especially at the airport. These two Brazilians we met flew into Porto Alegre and rented a car to fully explore the Serra Gaúcha region. You can easily use Google Maps or Waze for driving directions – that is what all the Brazilians do. But ensure you either have data roaming enabled or buy a data SIM card in advance. SIM cards for foreigners are very expensive in Brazil, so we recommend getting an e-SIM online from Saily.

Based on our bus rides, the roads between Porto Alegre and Gramado were in very good condition. Some parts are two-lane highways, and others are three-lane highways. Remember that Gramado is 3,000 feet above sea level, where Porto Alegre is at sea level, so it will be uphill driving to Gramado and downhill driving to Porto Alegre.

A couple of notes to consider:

• Manual/stick-shift cars are common in Brazil. If you don’t want to drive a manual car, definitely book an automatic car and confirm with the rental car company ahead of time.
• The Brazilians we met noted that during the heavy rain season, it is common for mountain highways to close due to weather and mudslides. Keep this in mind if you travel during this season. If it gets very cold, there is also a possibility of icy roads and snow.
• From the many Uber rides we took, it doesn’t seem that bad to drive in this area. However, during the peak tourist season (November and December), downtown Gramado suffers from traffic congestion. I would recommend Ubering to downtown Gramado to walk around instead of trying to park there.

Private transfer / day tour

You can also hire private transfers to Gramado from Porto Alegre or Caxias do Sul. It is going to be expensive, but it is definitely the least stressful of the three options. I would only say this is needed if you don’t want to rent a car and don’t want to deal with buses or bus stations. Otherwise, taking the bus was perfectly fine for us and easy to do.

Traveling between Gramado, Canela, and Novo Petrópolis 

We stayed in Canela and easily took Uber everywhere in Gramado and Canela. Most rides were 30 reais or less (as of December 2025, 1 USD is around 5.3 reais, so each trip cost less than US$6). Of course, if you stay in downtown Canela or Gramado, then you would just walk around your respective city. You would then only need Uber to get to the other city or to the many attractions outside downtown.

In fact, unless you have mobility issues, I recommend just walking around downtown Gramado and downtown Canela. Note that downtown Gramado is quite hilly, whereas downtown Canela is relatively flat. But Gramado is where most of the action is, not Canela.

On the other hand, Nova Petrópolis is a 50-minute bus ride from Gramado or 40-45 minutes by car (you can also catch this bus in Canela). Although Uber says you can use Uber to travel between the two cities, I highly doubt anyone would actually take that offer, so I would not rely on Uber.

Citral is also the bus company serving the route between Gramado and Nova Petrópolis and offers only limited service during the day. You will definitely want to confirm the bus schedule with Citral because when we went, the last bus left Nova Petrópolis at 6:45pm. After that, you would be stuck in Nova Petrópolis. Be very careful about the timing.

Also, note that while you can book tickets in advance for the trip from Gramado to Nova Petrópolis, you cannot book tickets in advance for the return trip from Nova Petrópolis. I have no idea why. You can only buy the tickets when you get on the bus in Nova Petrópolis. When we went, the bus wasn’t crowded, but I don’t know if that is true all the time.

My recommendation is to use Uber everywhere in Gramado and Canela, and then use the Citral bus or your rental car for a day trip to Nova Petrópolis.

Practical Tips about Gramado and Canela

Here are some practical tips if you want to check out the Gramado and Canela area.

Weather and Seasonality

The peak tourist season is November and December. This is when the Natal Luz – Christmas Lights – is on display in Gramado and when all of the Christmas decorations are up. We went during Thanksgiving weekend – end of November – and it was very busy and very touristy. There were also Christmas decorations on every corner. Someone said the only thing missing was snow, and you’d think you would be at Santa’s house in the North Pole.

But note that the snow is missing for a good reason: this is the Southern Hemisphere. Late November is the end of Spring, equivalent to the last week in May in the Northern Hemisphere. The temperature was in the 80s while we were there, and it was hot, except for the one day that it rained. If you are thinking of this Winter Wonderland full of Christmas spirit, think more of melting chocolate (there is a fondue restaurant on every block!) and sunscreen.

One of our Uber drivers also said that the time between Carnaval and Easter is also busy. I am not too sure why, but passing that along. He said outside of these two times, it is pretty chill and quiet. But I think that part of the charm of visiting Gramado is the Christmas spirit. Without that, downtown Gramado seems nice, but it is really just another mountain town.

Note that if you wanted to visit Gramado and Canela in the winter, July and August, you probably won’t get snow either. While it can snow, the cities are just not far south enough or high enough in elevation to really produce consistent snow. To get snow in South America, you must visit the Patagonian mountain resorts in Argentina and Chile, not the Brazilian rainforest.

Budget and Costs

We thought the food prices were a bit higher than in other places in Brazil, but still a bargain compared to the United States or Europe. Part of the reason for this is that the town caters to higher-end tourists. Lots of fancy restaurants line the streets of downtown Gramado and Canela, and there are so many fondue restaurants.

We stayed at the Doubletree Caracol, which is about halfway between Gramado and Canela. We chose this hotel for two reasons. One, we are Hilton Honors members, so we tend to stay at Hilton hotels when we are not staying in Airbnbs. Two, it was a lot cheaper than staying in downtown Gramado. It makes sense it would be cheaper, since it was high tourist season and most people would want to stay in Downtown Gramado.

If we went back, I would definitely stay at the Doubletree again. The hotel itself was lovely, and we had a fantastic time. More importantly, it was so easy to go everywhere by Uber, so we didn’t miss a beat. Compared to staying in Downtown Gramado, I preferred the Doubletree because it was away from the crowds. It was a peaceful retreat at the end of the day.

And speaking of transportation, we thought the Uber rides and the bus fares were cheap as well. It was less than $10 to use Uber anywhere in the Gramado and Canela area. The Citral bus tickets were cheap as well, even when booking right before the bus left.

If you are on a tight budget, then perhaps all of this could be expensive. But if you are on a middle-class budget, I wouldn’t find spending a few days in Gramado and Canela any more expensive than in most places, and definitely far cheaper than visiting an Alpine Village in Europe.

You can splurge by eating at high-end restaurants in Downtown Gramado and staying at luxury spa resorts. Otherwise, the costs all seemed quite reasonable to me.

Concluding Thoughts on Gramado and Canela

I wouldn’t mind going back, especially during the Natal Luz season. But I also wouldn’t go out of my way to visit it again. If I did go back a second time, I’d skip Nova Petrópolis. I would keep the downtown walks in Gramado and Canela, but also focus more on the nature stops outside Canela. I feel we did not spend enough time in nature in Canela, which is something I would change the next time around.

If you haven’t been to Gramado and Canela, definitely consider going. If you are already going to southern Brazil (or Uruguay), you like a kitschy version of Switzerland, and you appreciate nature by day with a warm hotel room by night, then add Gramado and Canela to your itinerary. In fact, I would pair Gramado and Canela with either Punta del Este, Uruguay, or Florianópolis, Brazil, if you like your beach cities. Or just pair your trip with São Paulo if you need your big-city fix. But I’d skip spending time in Porto Alegre, other than using it as an airport.

Let us know in the comments if you have been to Gramado and Canela, and what you think of this city pair!

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