"Petropolis: The Imperial City " a Petrópolis Travel Page by jeffjun

Visiting Petropolis never came across my mind simply because I had no idea such place existed until it rained one morning. I was scheduled to go hang gliding off the Pedra Bonita mountain (located at the Tijuca Forest National Park) but that was impossible when it was raining outside. I had no choice but to cancel all my outdoor activities and request other options from the concierge desk. They suggested to spend a rainy day at a shopping mall or visiting "this place" called Petropolis. I probably would have picked anything other than going to the mall. Yeah. Haha.

I am glad it rained on that day. Otherwise, I still wouldn't know anything about this beautiful city on top of mountains called Petropolis: the imperial city where Dom Pedro II used to spend the summer with his family and where Santos Dumont built an ingenious home in which he lived for years.

Petropolis was located on the mountains (2,400 feet above the sea level) and it was an hour drive from Rio on the North side. Cariocas often visit this city in the summer to escape the heat and humidity in Rio.