"Petropolis - Imperial City " a Petrópolis Travel Page by Willettsworld

Petropolis lies 60km north of Rio de Janeiro's city centre in the Serra dos Órgãos mountain range and make's for an excellent day out as it was once the retreat of Brazil's Imperial family in the 19th century. Dom Pedro II (Brazil's last emporer) built a summer palace here in which he and his wife and children frequented regularly in order to escape from the summer heat in Rio. In fact today it's still home to the pretender to the throne, the grandson of Princess Isabel, Dom Pedro de Orleans e Bragança.

The city has a decidedly European flavour with it's lovely villas, canals, palaces and city parks. The star attraction is the Imperial summer palace which is now open to the public as a museum. The city also offers other architectural and historical sites such as the cathedral (Catedral de São Pedro de Alcântara) which houses the tombs of Dom Pedro II, his wife Teresa and their daughter Princess Isabel and her husband.