Two-day walking route: Florianopolis old town and the Azorean south
Colourful colonial Azorean houses lining the waterfront at Ribeirao da Ilha
Two days, 22 km on foot, covering 300 years of Portuguese, Azorean and Manezinho Florianopolis.
The premise
This is a walking-first weekend for people who want to understand Florianopolis beyond its beaches. The city was founded in 1673 as a Portuguese-Azorean colonial outpost, and the historic layer survives in two connected but distinct places: the compact downtown grid around Praca XV, and the fishing village of Ribeirao da Ilha 25 km south on the island's inland coast. Day 1 walks the centre. Day 2 walks Ribeirao and its neighbouring hamlets. Total distance: about 22 km, mostly flat, spread over two full days with long lunches.
You do not need a car. Day 1 is entirely on foot from a downtown hotel. Day 2 uses one bus each way from Lagoa or downtown to Ribeirao (line 460 or 461, R$5.20, 40 minutes) plus walking within the village. If you’re staying in Lagoa da Conceicao, add a short bus or Uber to and from downtown on day 1. Total budget for two people over two days including hotel, meals and buses: R$1,600-2,400 mid-range.
Day 1 morning: Praca XV and the 18th-century core
Start at 9am in Praca XV de Novembro, the city's central square, dominated by a 200-year-old fig tree that Florianopolitans consider a landmark on par with the cathedral. The Catedral Metropolitana (built 1753, rebuilt 1922) faces the square and takes 20 minutes inside. Directly beside it, the Palacio Cruz e Souza houses the Museu Historico de Santa Catarina (R$10, closed Mondays, budget 60 minutes). The palace was the governor's residence and its ornate rooms, painted ceilings and 19th-century furniture are the collection.
Walk west 200 metres to the Alfandega, the 1876 customs house now used as a handicrafts market. From there, follow Rua Conselheiro Mafra to the Mercado Publico (1898), the covered market with fishmongers, cachacarias and 20+ small bars in the outer ring. This is the natural lunch stop by noon — Box 32 for a proper caldeirada de tainha, or one of the pastelarias for shrimp pastel and beer, R$40-70 a head. The market itself is a working monument; wander the interior aisles too, not just the bar ring.
Day 1 afternoon: Ponte Hercilio Luz and the waterfront
After lunch, walk west along the Beiramar promenade toward the Ponte Hercilio Luz, the 1926 suspension bridge that connects the island to the mainland. It's been closed to vehicles since 1991 and reopened as a pedestrian bridge in 2019 — you can now walk 819 metres across the water on the original steel deck, with the old town on one side and mainland Sao Jose on the other. The crossing takes 20 minutes each way and is one of the best free things to do in the city. Wind can be strong; wear a jacket even in summer afternoons.
Return to the island side and walk south along the waterfront to Forte Santana (1761), a small Portuguese fort now housing an armaments museum (R$8, closed Mondays, 30 minutes). This is the end of the downtown walking loop. Total distance day 1: about 8 km. Take the bus or an Uber back to your Lagoa hotel, or if you’re sleeping in the centre, rest an hour and walk to dinner. Recommended dinner: an Azorean-Brazilian seafood restaurant on Rua Bocaiuva, R$120-160 a head, or a per-kilo buffet at R$60 if you want something faster.
Day 2 morning: Ribeirao da Ilha village
Take the 9am bus from downtown (line 460 or 461) or from Lagoa (transfer at TICEN) to Ribeirao da Ilha. Journey time 40-50 minutes. Ribeirao is a village of 15 surviving 18th-century Azorean colonial houses strung along a 2-km waterfront, most now converted to oyster restaurants and small shops. Start at the Nossa Senhora da Lapa church (1806), one of the oldest surviving churches on the island, and walk south along the seafront. The road is quiet enough to walk on directly; a proper footpath runs parallel in sections.
The village is genuinely a working oyster-farming community: Santa Catarina produces 95% of Brazil's farmed oysters and Ribeirao is the historic centre of that industry. You’ll see the rafts in the bay and the sorting sheds behind the houses. Stop at the Casa Acoriana (small ethnographic museum, R$5, opens 10am, 30 minutes) for context on the 1748-1756 Azorean migration that populated the island. Continue walking to the far end of the village where a handful of smaller restaurants sit right on the tide-line.
Day 2 lunch: oysters at the source
Lunch is the reason people come to Ribeirao. The village has 12+ restaurants serving oysters direct from the bay — raw, gratineed, breaded, in stews, and in the local specialty ostra empanada (breaded and fried). A dozen fresh oysters run R$45-70 depending on size and season. A full lunch of oyster sequence plus grilled fish and sides costs R$140-200 a head with wine. Book ahead for weekends — locals from downtown drive out and fill the older restaurants. Weekday lunches walk in fine.
Season matters: oysters are best May through October, when the water is cooler and the meat is firmer. Summer oysters are edible but less impressive; some restaurants pivot to grilled fish and shrimp in January-February. If you’re travelling in high summer, order the whole grilled tainha (mullet, the historic Manezinho fish) instead — R$120-160 for a fish that feeds two. Pair with cachaca from a Santa Catarina distillery, R$18-30 a dose, from the small producers in Tijucas and Nova Trento.
Day 2 afternoon: walking to Freguesia do Ribeirao
After lunch, walk 30-40 minutes further south to the smaller hamlet of Freguesia do Ribeirao, which sees a fraction of the visitors and has some of the oldest surviving houses. The walk is flat, along the water, past oyster rafts and a couple of small beaches where you can dip your feet. Turn around at Sitio Capivaras, a 1760 colonial farmstead now partly restored as a private house — you can only see the exterior but it's the most complete 18th-century Azorean rural building on the island. Return to Ribeirao centre by 4.30pm.
Optional extension for strong walkers: continue past Freguesia toward Caiacangacu, another 4 km, where the road becomes a footpath along the bay and the tourist infrastructure disappears entirely. This turns day 2 into a 12-14 km walk and requires taxi or Uber back to Ribeirao centre for the return bus (R$40, 15 minutes). Not necessary for a good day — the standard Ribeirao walking loop is 6-8 km including the church, museum, and lunch stop.
Where to sleep for a walking weekend
For this specific itinerary, sleep in Lagoa da Conceicao rather than the historic centre. Lagoa has better restaurants for evenings, walkable nightlife, and direct bus connections both to downtown (day 1) and to Ribeirao (day 2, with one transfer). Mid-range pousadas at R$380-580, or splurge boutique at R$650-900. The historic centre has a couple of business hotels (R$320-450) but empties after 7pm and offers little for evening walking.
Alternative: sleep one night downtown and one night in Ribeirao itself. Ribeirao has 3-4 small pousadas in restored colonial houses at R$450-650 a night, which lets you eat oysters at dinner as well as lunch and see the village empty at dawn before the day-trippers arrive. This splits the trip into two very different halves and rewards travellers who care about atmosphere over convenience. Book Ribeirao pousadas 6-8 weeks ahead in high season — inventory is tiny.
Before you book
The questions people ask about Santa Catarina, answered with this month’s numbers.
Partly. The main village strip is flat, 2 km long, with occasional cobblestones. Most oyster restaurants are ground-floor and accessible. The museum has a step at the entrance. The extension walk to Freguesia is on a country road with no pavement — not ideal for wheelchairs. For anyone with knee issues, focus on the central 500m and take a taxi between spread-out restaurants.
It's possible but a mistake. The downtown loop needs 4 hours to do properly with museum visits, and Ribeirao needs 5 hours including lunch and walking. Combining them means rushing both and missing the point — which is walking pace, long lunches, and time to actually look at what you’re passing. Two days makes it a trip, not a checklist.
Yes for the downtown loop — several operators run 3-hour walking tours in Portuguese and English, R$60-120 per person, typically starting 9.30am at Praca XV. Book through the tourist information point at the airport or downtown. Ribeirao does not have a regular guided walking tour; the village is signposted enough that a self-guided walk works, and the restaurant staff explain the oyster farming happily if you ask.
