Paraty holidays

The small coastal village of Paraty is a virtual museum within a tropical paradise. Located 246 kilometres sout-east of Rio, it possesses a fine collection of classical 18th-century Portuguese colonial buildings. In the early 1700s Paraty was a major gold shipping port. Most of the gold from the inland province of Minas Gerais was painstainkingly transported over mountains to Paraty and then shipped to Portugal. However, the construction of an alternative road linking Minas Gerais to the Atlantic coast meant the town quickly went into decline. Today, its major attractions remain the classical architectural setting, the surrounding Atlantic forest and the spectacular beaches nearby. Car traffic is forbidden inside the historic city in order to preserve the tranquil ambience.