The Romantic Road to Gramado is a tour that is worth doing. If you arrive at Porto Alegre airport you will surely rent a car, you will have about 130 kilometers of travel and on that journey you will discover the Romantic Road. Do you want to look for a good deal to rent a car?, ► Check here
If you don’t want to drive a bus from Porto Alegre airport to Gramado it may be a good option
This winding, tree-lined route, so much so that in some parts it seems like you are in a tunnel, will take you through villages colonised by Europeans and, just like in Gramado and Canela, you will be struck by the type of buildings.
We did it in spring, but it must be even more beautiful in autumn, as the leaves turn gold to colour the path, and in summer the hydrangeas accompany the route.
The route passes through 14 municipalities of Serra Gaúcha, São Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Estância Velha, Ivoti, Dois Irmãos, Morro Reuter, Santa Maria do Herval, Presidente Lucena , Linha Nova, Picada Café, Nova Petrópolis , Gramado, Canela and São Francisco de Paula .
It is a journey to be done slowly and enjoying it. Most of these towns and cities were colonized, as we said, by Germans who settled in the Serra Gaúcha in the first half of the 19th century, with Italian immigrants arriving in this area at the end of that century and beginning of the 20th century, settling in Caxias, Bento Gonçalves, and vineyard areas.
Given all of the above, you can imagine that apart from the landscape that dominates this route, the buildings and flavors do as well.
You have to be careful not to take the wrong route, since there are two ways to get to Gramado from Porto Alegre, and one of them is via the Romantic Road.
The Romantic Road is marked by a banana leaf and points of interest are marked on it. Here we will take the BR116 from Porto Alegre to Nova Petrópolis and then the RS235 to Gramado.
We first passed through Novo Hamburgo, 43 kilometers from Porto Alegre, known as the shoe capital due to the concentration of shoe factories.
Then we will arrive at Ivoti, a peaceful town. You can deviate from the route at Ivoti and go through Presidente Lucena, or continue and go through Dos Irmaos and Morro Reuter, both ways ending up at Picada Café.
The postcard of the city of Picada Café is the mill with an iron wheel, whose function was to grind the beans, its construction dates back to 1928. In the old mill flour and oils were manufactured. Currently it houses the headquarters of the Municipal Secretariat of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of Picada Café. Very picturesque.
Many colonial cafes, shops selling sausages, leather goods, wood and small churches line the road, as well as lush vegetation. For those of us who like to travel by car, the miles that separate us from our destination are a pleasure.
As we said, we can do this route if we enter Ivoti and continue straight to Dois Irmaos, Morro Reuter and arrive at Picada Café
Of course we are only talking about doing the tour by car, it goes without saying that you can stop and enjoy the places.
We arrived at Nova Petrópolis, the gateway to the “hydrangea region” tourist corridor that includes Nova Petrópolis, Gramado, Canela and Sao Francisco de Paula, but unfortunately we did not go during the flowering season.
The immigrants who arrived in Nova Petrópolis from 1858 onwards were mostly from the German states: Pomeranians, Saxons, Rhinelanders and Bohemians from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In addition to these, there were some French from the Franco-German border regions, Dutch, Belgians, Poles, and Russians.
The city’s highlights include the Immigrant Village Park and Zaandam City, which transports us to the Netherlands without leaving Rio Grande do Sul.
If you are staying a few days in Gramado you have an excursion to Nova Petropolis to learn more about German immigration in the city and its highlights.
Between Nova Petrópolis and Gramado we find a beautiful viewpoint towards the mountains, I recommend you to stop. Es Parad da Torre, there you will find a cafeteria, an inn and a viewpoint not to be missed. On RS 235, 195
If you want information about Gramado and Canela, and see everything you can do in them, I invite you to visit our previous post. ►What to see in Gramado and Canela
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links
