Juiz de Fora

Positioned on the south of Minas Gerais State, at 600 meters above sea level, in the Serra da Mantiqueira, Juiz de Fora is one of Brazil’s cities with better index on quality of life. With about 500 000 habitants, it has a very young population, mainly because the city has a Federal University with 33 different courses. It has a tropical climate and some forest reserves and protected areas near the city.
Other important aspect is the culture in this city. Juiz de Fora has two beautiful museums, Mariano Procópio and Modern Art Museum Murilo Mendes. In addition to this it also has a Philharmonic Orchestra Pro-Music. Annually, the city organizes one of the largest classical music festivals in the world, The International Festival of Brazilian Colonial Music and Early Music.
Near to Belo Horizonte (270 km) and Rio de Janeiro (180km), and also only 480 km from São Paulo, Juiz de Fora is strategically located between the country's largest consumer markets. In the past it was the most important city of Minas Gerais State, because of its strong industrial growth achieved, during this time it was called "Manchester Mineira”, in reference of the known English city.

- Renato