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Florianopolis: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Florianópolis lies mostly on the island of Santa Catarina, joined to the mainland by bridges, with forty-odd beaches around it. Its old name was Nossa Senhora do Desterro; it was renamed in 1894 after Floriano Peixoto, the president whose forces had just crushed a revolt here — a name many islanders still resent. Two hours on foot in the centre.

Florianopolis

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A short history of Florianopolis

The settlement on the island of Santa Catarina was founded around 1673 under the name Nossa Senhora do Desterro. In 1748 settlers from the Azores began to arrive, bringing with them fishing, lacemaking and the style of house that has remained on the island to this day. In 1894, after a revolt against the republic was put down here, the city took the name of President Floriano Peixoto. In 1926 the Hercílio Luz Bridge opened, linking the island to the mainland for the first time. Most of the city lies on the island, which has more than 40 beaches.

The ten best sights in Florianopolis

  1. Hercílio Luz Bridge
    1
    Hercílio Luz Bridge

    Lit at night; walk across

  2. Praça XV de Novembro
    2
    Praça XV de Novembro

    The square of the old fig tree

  3. Metropolitan Cathedral
    3
    Metropolitan Cathedral

    Above the square

  4. Palácio Cruz e Sousa
    4
    Palácio Cruz e Sousa

    The pink palace, a museum

  5. Beira-Mar Norte
    5
    Beira-Mar Norte

    The bayside promenade

  6. Santo Antônio de Lisboa
    6
    Santo Antônio de Lisboa

    Azorean village of oysters and sunsets

  7. Ribeirão da Ilha
    7
    Ribeirão da Ilha

    The oldest village, the best oysters

  8. Lagoa da Conceição
    8
    Lagoa da Conceição

    The lagoon at the heart of the island

  9. Joaquina dunes
    9
    Joaquina dunes

    Sandboarding

  10. Praia da Joaquina
    10
    Praia da Joaquina

    The surf beach

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How we choose

What is an audio walk?

Tours in Florianopolis →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Florianopolis:

Desterro, the old town

Free walking tours in Florianopolis

Desterro, the old town

Florianópolis lies mostly on the island of Santa Catarina, joined to the mainland by bridges, with forty-odd beaches around it. Its old name was Nossa Senhora do Desterro; it was renamed in 1894 after Floriano Peixoto, the president whose forces had just crushed a revolt here — a name many islanders still resent. Two hours on foot in the centre.

  1. Praça XV de Novembro · The square is shaded by a huge old fig tree, more than a century old, whose branches are held up by props; local legend says that walking around it brings luck, or a marriage.
  2. Palácio Cruz e Sousa · The old government palace, now a museum, named after the poet João da Cruz e Sousa, born in Desterro in 1861 to formerly enslaved parents, who became the founder of Symbolism in Brazilian poetry.
  3. Metropolitan Cathedral · On the site of the first chapel of the settlement, founded in the 1670s by Francisco Dias Velho, a bandeirante from São Paulo; the church looks down the square toward the bay.
  4. Casa da Alfândega · The customs house of 1876, built when the sea still came up to here before the land was reclaimed; it now sells the island’s crafts, among them renda de bilro, bobbin lace brought by the Azorean settlers.
  5. Mercado Público · The yellow market hall opened in 1899, now with a covered courtyard of bars where office workers and fishermen drink cold beer over shrimp pastries in the late afternoon.
  6. Hercílio Luz Bridge · A steel suspension bridge of 1926, the first link between island and mainland. Closed as unsafe in 1991, it stood unused for almost thirty years and reopened only in 2019; at night it is lit in colours.

The Azorean villages and the north

Between 1748 and 1756 some thousands of settlers from the Azores were brought to the island, and their villages on the bay keep their churches, their lace and their manner of speech. Today the same calm water is farmed for oysters. Half a day or a day by car or bus.

  1. Santo Antônio de Lisboa · An Azorean village of whitewashed houses and an eighteenth-century church on the bay, where the restaurants put their tables on the sand to watch the sun go down behind the mainland.
  2. Fortress of São José · Begun in 1740, one of a ring of forts Portugal built to close the bay to the Spanish; in 1777 a Spanish fleet took the island anyway, almost without a shot.
  3. Anhatomirim Fortress · The largest of the forts, on an island at the mouth of the bay, reached by boat. In 1894, after the Federalist revolt, rebels and suspects were shot here on government orders — the episode behind the city’s change of name.
  4. Jurerê Internacional · A planned neighbourhood of large villas and beach clubs on a calm beach, where in January rich visitors from Argentina and São Paulo spend the afternoons with music and champagne.
  5. Praia do Santinho · An open surf beach in the north-east whose rocks at the southern end carry petroglyphs, geometric engravings made by the people who lived on the island long before the Portuguese.
  6. Beira-Mar Norte · Back in town, the bayside avenue built on reclaimed land, with a promenade where the city runs and cycles at dusk, looking across to the bridges.

The lagoon and the wild south

The east and south of the island are lagoon, dunes and open Atlantic beaches, with fishing villages that still haul nets on the sand. A full day by car; the southern trails need good shoes.

  1. Lagoa da Conceição · A long saltwater lagoon in the middle of the island, ringed by hills and dunes, joined to the sea by a narrow canal at Barra da Lagoa; the village on its shore is the island’s bohemian centre.
  2. Joaquina dunes · High white dunes between the lagoon and the sea, where boards are rented for sandboarding down the slopes.
  3. Praia da Joaquina · The beach that made the island a surfing destination: international surf contests were held here from the 1980s, and the surf is strong all year.
  4. Praia do Campeche · Behind this beach was a landing strip of the French airmail company Aéropostale in the 1920s and 1930s; local tradition says Antoine de Saint-Exupéry stopped here, and a street is named after him.
  5. Armação · The name means a whaling station: from 1772 southern right whales were hunted and boiled down for oil here; the whales, now protected, return to these waters to calve from July to November.
  6. Pântano do Sul · A fishing village at the southern end where, in the mullet season from May to July, lookouts on the hills spot the schools and the village runs to launch the boats; the trail to the wild beach of Lagoinha do Leste starts nearby.
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Getting to Florianopolis and getting around

  • Florianópolis Airport · In the south of the island
  • Rita Maria bus terminal · Long-distance buses

Cheap eats in Florianopolis

The island eats from the bay: oysters, farmed in Santa Catarina more than anywhere else in Brazil, raw with lime or gratinated; pastel de camarão, a fried shrimp pastry; and on the beaches the sequência de camarão, shrimp in a run of preparations. A dozen oysters costs about eight to fifteen dollars.

  • Ribeirão da Ilha · Oysters at the water
  • Mercado Público · Shrimp pastries and cold beer
  • Pântano do Sul · Fried fish from the boats

Museums in Florianopolis

The palace of the poet and the forts of the bay.

  • Palácio Cruz e Sousa · History of Santa Catarina
  • Anhatomirim Fortress · The island fort
  • Fortress of São José · The fort above Jurerê

Nature and day trips near Florianopolis

Dunes, a lagoon, wild beaches and whales in winter.

  • Lagoinha do Leste · The beach at the end of the trail
  • Ilha do Campeche · Rock art and clear water
  • Joaquina dunes · The dunes

Things to do in Florianopolis with kids

With children: sandboarding, calm bay beaches and a boat to a fort.

  • Joaquina dunes · Sandboards
  • Anhatomirim Fortress · The boat to the fort
  • Barra da Lagoa · The canal and the calm pools

Nightlife in Florianopolis

In summer the island’s nights belong to the beach clubs of Jurerê by day and the bars of the lagoon at night.

  • Lagoa da Conceição · Bars by the lagoon
  • Jurerê Internacional · Beach clubs
  • Mercado Público · After-work beer
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Frequently asked questions about Florianopolis

What is there to see in Florianopolis?

The top sights in Florianopolis are Hercílio Luz Bridge, Praça XV de Novembro and Metropolitan Cathedral. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Florianopolis?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Florianopolis without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Florianopolis?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Florianopolis, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Desterro, the old town.

How do you get to Florianopolis and get around?

The main ways are Florianópolis Airport and Rita Maria bus terminal. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Florianopolis, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Florianopolis that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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