Start from 35 curated places around Florianópolis, BR, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Ostradamus
The oyster house on the water at Ribeirão da Ilha, looking straight out over the beds the oysters are pulled from — about as local as shellfish gets. The grilled and gratin oysters are the order, with the bay as the dining room.
Box 32
A market stall inside the Mercado Público, going since 1984, famous for shrimp pastéis and seafood served standing at the counter with a cold beer. The most authentic bite in Centro and a rite of passage.
Trails & outdoors
Trilha da Lagoinha do Leste
The island's signature trek — a couple of hours through Atlantic rainforest and over a ridge to a wild, undeveloped beach with a freshwater lagoon behind it. No road, no kiosks, just one of Brazil's great hidden beaches.
Trilha da Costa da Lagoa
A scenic shoreline path along the north arm of Lagoa da Conceição to the roadless Costa da Lagoa hamlet, passing old stone bridges and fishing houses. A walk-in lunch with a seafood reward at the end.
Things to do
Projeto TAMAR Florianópolis
The sea-turtle conservation center at Barra da Lagoa, with open tanks, rescued turtles and hands-on exhibits explaining the research happening on the island's beaches. The island's best rainy-day stop with kids.
Museu Histórico de Santa Catarina
The state history museum inside the pink Palácio Cruz e Sousa downtown, with period rooms, decorative arts and the building's own grand 19th-century interiors. A quiet dose of the island's colonial past.
Landmarks & sights
Mercado Público de Florianópolis
The 1890s public market downtown where the island eats and drinks standing up — fishmongers, spice stalls, and the legendary boxes pouring cold beer over plates of bolinho de bacalhau. The social heart of Centro, especially late afternoon.
Ponte Hercílio Luz
The 1926 steel suspension bridge linking the island to the mainland, recently restored and lit at night — the symbol of the city and its best sunset silhouette. Walkable on its restored deck.