Winter tourism destinations for when Brazil gets chilly

The image of Brazil abroad is incompatible with the notion of winter. Most tourists come expecting to lay back on a beach with a caipirinha. So it may come as a surprise that Brazil has quite a few winter tourism destinations for snuggling up with hot cocoa and reading by the fireplace.

Many parts of the country do, in fact, experience sweater weather: from June through to early September. Many cities even have winter festivals, where visitors can enjoy warm food and hot drinks. Among them is the traditional snack of pinhão, a strain of pine nut which is much larger than those normally found in North America and Europe.

Although it’s possible to see snow in the southernmost states, tourists coming from places with temperatures that regularly go below zero might find the Brazilian winter more akin to autumn. Temperatures rarely dip below freezing, and remain mild compared to global standards. According to the National Meteorological Institute (INMET), the lowest recorded temperature was minus 13 degrees celsius.

Important to remember, however, is that the infrastructure in most cities is built with the summer in mind. In places like São Paulo, homes and offices keep out the heat, meaning that it...