What to Do in Gramado

Known for its Christmas celebrations, the town of Gramado runs on tourism: museums, parks, and restaurants, most of them themed. Dinosaurs, Egypt, cars — anything can become an exhibit.

Especially chocolate. In fact, when researching destinations to eat and taste chocolate, Gramado always comes up. There are dozens of chocolate shops and factories, and we visited a few.

The municipality of Gramado was established on December 15, 1954, shortly after breaking off from the town of Taquara.

In the early 20th century, people came to Gramado in summer not just to cool off, but also for cleaner air and the local natural beauty, like its canyon and waterfall views.

With the introduction of heating in buildings around the 1950s, the town became more appealing for winter tourism too, and today it’s one of the most sought-after destinations year-round.

When to Go to Gramado

Gramado is a place you can visit year-round, and its fairs and festivals are genuinely interesting — here’s a rundown by month of what’s happening when:

• January / October / November / December — Natal Luz runs, and in December, the Festa das Hortênsias (Hydrangea Festival) too.
• February — like the rest of Brazil, Carnaval takes over.
• April — spend Easter in Gramado, along with the Festa Colonial, which runs into May.
• June / July / August — Gramado’s winter season, and August is also when the Film Festival happens, running since 1973.
• September — Quilt and Patchwork Festival.

What to Do in Gramado

Pórticos de Gramado

From the moment you enter the town, you already get a sense of its beauty, since the gateway arches are beautifully maintained. They’re always full of tourists hunting for the perfect photo.

There are two gateway arches in Gramado: one accessible from Taquara (Google Maps) and the other from Nova Petrópolis (Google Maps), and both are beautiful structures welcoming visitors to town. The first opened in 1973, and the second only in 1991.

Pórticos de Gramado

Themed Museums in Gramado

One thing that will catch your eye in town is just how many themed museums Gramado has. With all kinds of fun themes, we’re sure at least one will win you over.

Location: Avenida Dom Luiz Guanella, 264.

Fantastic House

Fantastic House (website) welcomes visitors with a magical entrance, revealing the origin of a fantastic giant before opening the great portal of Hortus, the Garden of Dreams, so guests can discover all the secrets hidden within.

Fun characters show visitors that a simple smile can be one of the great secrets to a fantastic life.

Admission ranges from R$69.00 to R$89.00.

Fantastic House

Location: Avenida das Hortênsias, 4931 - Carniel.

Selfie Gramado and the Selfie Gloob Space

At 2,500 m², Selfie Gramado is the largest Instagrammable space in Brazil, and around 500 m² of that is dedicated exclusively to sets from Mundo Gloob.

Visitors get access not just to a range of unusual backdrops and sets, but also to replicas of sets from the TV channel.

Tickets: online at website for R$90.00 (full price).

Selfie Gramado and Selfie Gloob space

Location: Avenida das Hortênsias, 5855.

Dreamland Museu de Cera de Gramado

Anyone who’s visited a wax museum before knows how fun it can be.

This one, Latin America’s first, is no exception. Figures of Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, and other notable names are on display at this wax museum.

Admission costs R$140.00 (full price), though you can buy tickets online individually or as a bundle with other attractions, at a more attractive price.

Dreamland Museu de Cera

Location: Avenida das Hortênsias, 5507 - Ipê Amarelo.

Super Carros Gramado

If you’re a car enthusiast, this is a year-round auto show.

For the biggest fans, you can rent a car and ride along as a passenger, or, for the true diehards, drive supercars yourself, like a Maserati Grancabrio, Shelby GT500, Lamborghini Gallardo, and more.

Admission to the show costs R$90.00 (full price). But if you want to drive one of the cars, prices vary — a Ferrari F430, for example, costs R$980.00, while a Ford Mustang GT V8 costs R$290.00.

Routes run 8.7 km for drivers and 5.7 km for passengers. Purchases and reservations can be made through the website.

Super Carros Gramado

Location: Avenida das Hortênsias, 4635 - Ipê Amarelo.

eXceed

eXceed is a theme park offering high-speed racing simulators, both on land and at sea.

Kids ages 4 and up, and at least 1.40m tall, can already take part. Currently the largest gaming park in South America, spanning four floors of games. We’d especially recommend the first floor’s hologate, which was our favorite of all.

There are also immersive zero-gravity simulators, a 180-degree gaming arena, and a racing simulator.

There are several ticket options, some for larger groups or including fondue or popcorn, but the base price ranges from R$119.00 to R$228.00. Buy tickets at the website.

eXceed theme park

Location: Av. das Hortênsias, 4510 - Estrada Gramado.

Dream Car Hollywood

Hollywood Dream Cars houses a permanent exhibition featuring a collection of some of the most coveted vintage cars from the 1920s through the 1960s, and it belongs to the same group as Super Carros.

During your visit, the museum’s photographer offers custom photos inside the cars, complete with period accessories like sunglasses and a leather jacket, Elvis Presley style.

Dream Car Hollywood

Location: Avenida das Hortênsias, R. Vigilante, 4151.

Chocolate in Gramado

The chocolate shops around town are themed too, and there are plenty scattered throughout the city. Here are the most eye-catching ones.

Território dos Horrores Play House Florybal

People say it’s reminiscent of the old Noites do Terror at Playcenter. Once you’re inside: the lights go out, and strange, scary noises follow. Despite the fear and jump scares, the fun is guaranteed.

Price: R$15.00 plus fees, purchasable online.

Território dos Horrores Play House Florybal

Império dos Dragões

If you love movies or books featuring fantastical creatures, you’ll love Império dos Dragões, a themed Florybal shop. Like the group’s other parks, the space is Instagrammable, and of course, filled with plenty of chocolate. The shop sits along the Gramado–Canela highway, and admission is free. Learn more on the website.

Império dos Dragões - Floryball

Chocolate Lugano

Probably the most famous chocolate brand in Gramado and the surrounding region, Lugano has been around since 1976, and we got lucky enough to visit on its anniversary, September 26.

Beyond its quality and delicious flavor, a few other moves helped grow the brand, like selling to regional hotels, airlines, themed formats like the Kikito shape, and self-service store formats.

There are several branches of the brand scattered around town, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding one.

But while you’re not there yet, you can check out the website and social media, like Instagram.

Chocolate Lugano

Location: Av. Don Luiz Guanella, 1313 - São José, Canela.

Mundo de Chocolate Parque Temático

Ever imagined a chocolate replica of famous landmarks from around the world? That’s exactly what you’ll find at this theme park. The Eiffel Tower, the Sphinx, and even the Buddha all have sculptures made of chocolate.

Prices range from R$36.00 (full price) just for admission, up to R$64.80 (full price) for some tastings.

Mundo de Chocolate Parque Temático

O Reino do Chocolate Caracol

A mouthwatering attraction for chocolate lovers. It also turns into a genuine theme park for visitors.

Here, guests get to interact with the story of cacao, from planting and cultivation to production, all the way through to the delicious chocolate that reaches consumers.

O Reino do Chocolate Caracol

Location: Avenida das Hortênsias, 5382 - Carniel.

Downtown Gramado

Downtown Gramado is packed with shops and restaurants, and there are also a few spots worth visiting that we’ve listed below as absolute must-sees.

Igreja de São Pedro

Also called the Igreja da Matriz, this beautiful church is located downtown, originally built from wood in 1917, and later, in 1933, rebuilt using basalt stone.

The tower stands 46 meters tall, and its stained glass windows tell the story of Peter following Jesus Christ.

And whenever you visit, it’s always packed with people.

Igreja de São Pedro

Fonte do Amor Eterno, in Gramado

Just like in other spots around the world, in Gramado you can also carve your name and your partner’s onto a lock to seal your eternal love.

The rule is: engrave your names onto the padlock, lock it onto the fence, and toss the key into the fountain.

It’s downtown, right next to Igreja da Matriz. Tip: buy your padlock ahead of time, since nearby shops sell them for R$30.00.

Fonte do Amor Eterno

Location: Avenida Borges de Medeiros, 2659.

Festival de Cinema de Gramado

Running since 1973, the Festival de Cinema de Gramado is one of Brazil’s leading film events.

Its first edition ran from January 10 to 14 that year, though today it takes place in August. In 2021, it ran from August 13 to 21, awarding around 60 “Kikitos,” plus a few honorable mentions.

Canal Brasil broadcast not just the event but also some of the films. Check out the event’s official website for some film recommendations.

Festival de Cinema de Gramado

Rua Coberta de Gramado

This is a spot you should visit, especially once the Christmas decorations go up. Located downtown, near Igreja da Matriz, it’s home to restaurants, shops, and cafés. It also occasionally hosts cultural performances or gets special decorations.

Gramado and the Rua Coberta

Rua Torta

Rua Emílio Sorget is the official name of the famous Rua Torta (“Crooked Street”), in Gramado. Just under 100 meters long, it was designed in 1922 to replace a staircase and allow cars through. It used to be called Ladeira Florida, and its landscaping still catches the eye, with beautiful flowers and trees.

Rua Emílio Sorget, known as Rua Torta, in Gramado

Estátua do Kikito

Contrary to what people might assume, the image of Kikito actually predates the Gramado Film Festival, coming out of a contest between local craftspeople.

A replica of it, standing a little over 2 meters tall, sits on a traffic circle on Avenida Borges de Medeiros. Kikito trophies, today made of bronze, are awarded to the festival’s winners.

Estátua do Kikito

Paddle Boating at Lago Negro

The area around Lago Negro is beautiful and great for paddle boating; prices vary by number of riders, R$50.00 for up to 2 people, and R$60.00 for up to four, with 2 adults and 2 kids up to age 10.

Lago Negro

Restobar Lago Negro

Quality food in a genuinely pleasant setting near Lago Negro, in Gramado — this is Restobar Lago Negro. Its menu includes wine, cheese, charcuterie boards, cocktails, meals, coffee, and desserts.

Open Monday through Sunday, and you can check out their beautiful dishes on Instagram.

Restobar Gramado, Lago Negro

Snowland

Snowland, in Gramado, is a park with real snow. There, visitors can enjoy a range of sports usually only possible in snowy climates, like ice skating, skiing, a snow mountain, and snowboarding. In other words, there’s fun for the whole family.

Its address is Rua Linha Carazal, 9009, and full-price tickets, costing R$159 in the low season or R$179 in the high season, can be bought online. This ticket covers equipment and several attractions, though ski and snowboard lessons and practice cost extra. Prices are somewhat lower for kids and seniors.

Snowland, Gramado

Mini Mundo

Mini Mundo is, in fact, a mini city, with a total population of 3,268, 290 animals, 505 vehicles, and 133 buildings, according to the October 2021 census. Tickets can be bought online and cost R$48 for adults or R$24 for ages 3 to 15 or seniors.

Anyone who used to love playing with Lego, Playmobil, Action Man, or similar toys will find Mini Mundo absolutely mesmerizing.

Check out a few photos of Mini Mundo, in Gramado, below.

Castle and airport

Mini Mundo, Gramado

Miniatures of the Jardim Botânico de Curitiba and Museu do Ipiranga, São Paulo

Wineries in Gramado

Gramado isn’t known for its wineries — that title belongs to Bento Gonçalves — but if you’re short on time, there are three wineries you can visit right here for a great outing for wine lovers, since the Serra Gaúcha is Brazil’s largest wine-producing region.

Vinícola Casa Seganfredo

Casa Seganfredo is a boutique winery, located 8 kilometers from Gramado in the Linha Belvedere area.

Paulo and Ana, the owners, are of Italian descent, and during the visit they’ll walk you through the study of wines and grapes.

Vinícola Casa Seganfredo

It’s a small winery, but it has a beautiful terrace overlooking the vineyards. The property spans 16 alqueires, of which 5 are used for growing grapes. All production is done by hand, with an annual capacity of 10,000 bottles of wine, 3,000 of sparkling wine, and 3,000 of juice.

One wine that caught our attention was made from Montepulciano grapes, since it’s a variety not easily found in Brazil, with a 13.9% alcohol content.

Casa Seganfredo wines

The winery is open every day from 9 AM to 5 PM. To schedule a visit, the phone number is listed on the website, and the tour runs about two hours, including a tasting — unlike in Bento Gonçalves, you can’t just do a standalone tasting here.

Vinícola Ravanello

Opened in February 2010, we’d recommend adding Vinícola Ravanello to your Gramado itinerary. Spanning 2.5 hectares, it produces 70,000 liters of wine per year. They only produce fine wines and don’t sell grape juice. We tried a 2017 Tannat, and without a doubt, it was a hit.

Vinícola Ravanello

Visits run Monday to Saturday, by appointment only, lasting 2 hours with a tasting of 5 labels, priced at R$125.00 per person, as listed on the website.

There’s also no standalone tasting option here — to taste, you need to buy the glass for R$20.00 plus a pour, averaging around R$40.00, or buy the glass and a full bottle to drink on site.

Wines from Vinícola Ravanello

Located 5 km from downtown Gramado, across from Snowland, on highway RS 235, at KM 28, with plenty of signage along the way.

Since we were short on time, we bought a bottle to try at home and continued our trip.

Where to Eat in Gramado

As we’ve mentioned, Gramado is an extremely touristy town with plenty of restaurants, mostly themed ones — we didn’t end up trying the themed spots, but here are our recommendations around town.

El Fuego Restaurante

First of all, El Fuego Restaurante (Instagram) is a wonderful option for meat lovers, since every cut is grilled, giving it that delicious char. We also really enjoyed the sides and dessert.

Main course: we ordered two cuts, a 300-gram picanha (R$98.00) and a 300-gram filet mignon (R$98.00), served with cassava flour, bacon farofa, and the house chimichurri sauce, and everything was simply delicious, with the meat cooked exactly right — we also ordered white rice on the side (R$28.00).

Dessert: a really tough choice, but we ended up trying the Zabaione (R$36.00), a traditional Italian dessert, and we loved the flavor, though there are other equally tasty options — the most popular being the chocolate fondue in a glass with fresh fruit (R$42.00).

El Fuego Restaurante

Hard Rock Café

Hard Rock Café Gramado (Instagram) is always a solid choice for a meal and also for picking up souvenirs for family and friends — we’d recommend at least stopping by to check it out.

Hard Rock Café Gramado

Casa do Colono

Casa do Colono sits right downtown in Gramado, and we’d recommend checking it out, since it carries local products like cheese, salami, and the region’s famous cuca (R$11.00) and bread with salami, plus handmade souvenirs from local vendors.

Casa do Colono and Gramado handicrafts

Since you’re already thinking about visiting Gramado, how about extending your trip and swinging by Bento Gonçalves or Canela?