EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Maps are free from the tourist office in the Casa da Cultura, tucked away at Praça Antônio Eulálio 53 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 8am-noon; tel 038/3531-1636). There's also a tourist post in the Rodoviária (daily 8-11am & 1-6pm), but it's often shut because of staff shortages. The receptions at the Hotel do Tijuco and the Dália Hotel, and the Museu do Diamante, also hand out maps.

Hotels are plentiful. The largest, priciest and most comfortable is the Pousada do Garimpo, a five-minute walk from the town centre at Av. da Saudade 265, on the western continuation of Rua Direita (tel 038/3531-2523, fax 3531-2316; $35-50); the hotel is friendly and well equipped (including a pool), but has a somewhat soulless feel to it. Much more interesting, and cheaper too, is the town's Niemeyer creation, the Hotel do Tijuco, Rua Macau do Meio 211 (tel & fax 038/3531-1022; $20-$50), where it's worth splashing out on one of the more expensive "luxo" rooms, which are larger and brighter and have balconies offering wonderful views across Diamantina. The Dália Hotel, Praça J Kubitschek 25 (tel 038/3531-1477, fax 3531-3526; $20-35), just down from the cathedral, is possibly the best value in town. Housed in a lovely two-storey building, it has bags of character, good rooms and fine views over the square. Another good bet is the Pousada dos Cristais, Rua Jogo da Bola 53, west from Rua Direita (tel 038/3531-2897; $20-35), a very pleasant family-run place with comfortable, rustic rooms. If you want somewhere cheaper still in the old part of town, the Pousada Gameleira, Rua do Rosário 209 (tel 038/3531-1900) is an attractive choice and charges around $8 per person; ask for a room facing the Igreja do Rosário. Other cheap options, with quartos upwards of $5 per person, are clustered around the Rodoviária in the upper part of town, and are ideal if you can't face the prospect of lugging your luggage uphill when it's time to leave: Hotel JK, for example, immediately opposite the bus station at Praça Dom João 135 (tel 038/3531-1142; $10-20), is perfectly decent.

The streets around the cathedral are the heart of the town, and there's no shortage of simple bars and mineiro restaurants here, though the food on offer is rather uninspiring. Reasonable ones include the Capistrana on Praça Antônio Eulálio, and Espeto de Prata on Beco da Pena just off Rua Direita, a sophisticated churrasco joint with live music Thursdays to Sundays. Best of all is Cantinha do Marinho on Rua Direita 113, in front of the cathedral: the food is good and offers the best value for money in town; try a doce de limão to round off your meal. There's a good cake shop opposite the Casa da Cultura on Praça Antônio Eulálio. The main focus of weekend nightlife activity is Rua Direita: the busiest bar is Oasis Clube at no. 132 (daily 8am-late), which has live music upstairs on Friday and Sunday evenings and a disco on Saturdays. Opposite, the tiny cellar bar Taberna do Gilmar (Wed-Sat 8pm onwards) has the town's loudest music system, playing a mixture of Brazilian and rock. Another place to try is the cavern-like Bar do Japão on Beco da Tecla, an alleyway near the mercado.