Belo Horizonte means beautiful horizon, and the name comes from the ridge of the Serra do Curral that closes the view to the south of town. It is a large city, a bit over two million people, and unusually for Brazil it was planned: it was laid out in the 1890s as the new capital of Minas Gerais, replacing Ouro Preto, with wide avenues and a grid cut across by diagonal boulevards. The result is a place that feels more ordered than many Brazilian cities, though traffic is dense and the hills make it a rider's workout.
Mineiros are proud of their food, and BH is the capital of that pride. Pão de queijo, the little cheese bread, appears at every café counter, and the Mercado Central is a maze of stalls selling cheeses, cachaça, sausages and sweets. Bars are famous for botecos, informal spots with cold beer and snacks, and the city has been called the bar capital of Brazil. Try feijão tropeiro, a dish of beans, sausage and manioc flour, and the tutu, a bean purée, if you have a big appetite.
The architecture is a surprise. The Pampulha complex, designed in the early 1940s by Oscar Niemeyer, with its curving church of São Francisco de Assis covered in blue-and-white tiles, is on UNESCO's list, and the lake beside it makes a nice place for an evening walk. In the old days, gold and iron attracted people to the region, and the mountains south of the city still hold many mines, which explains the name of the state, General Mines.
For riders, Belo Horizonte is the gateway to the Estrada Real, the old Royal Road, and to the colonial towns of Ouro Preto and Mariana, about a hundred kilometres to the south-east, where the best riding begins. Leave early to avoid the heavy traffic on the ring road and the main highways, and expect trucks. Fuel, repairs and parts for most brands are easy to find here, with Nova Lima and Contagem making up the rest of the metropolitan area. Weather is warm and pleasant, with a wet summer.