Joinville
Joinville is the largest city in Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil.
It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitiba and Porto Alegre. Joinville is also a major industrial, financial and commerce center.
Getting to Joinville
Numerous cities around Brazil have flights to and from Joinville Airport, with the most regular (multiple daily flights) being São Paulo (Congonhas and Guarulhos Airports).
Worth seeing
Bolshoi Ballet School (Escola de Teatro Bolshoi), Avenida Beira Rio, 315,. Fri 10AM-4PM. Well worth a visit if you're in the area. This is the only school run by the famous Bolshoi Ballet Company outside of Russia. Guided tours are in Portuguese (though if you're lucky the guide may be fluent enough in English to give you a run down), and should be booked in advance. R$3. Caiera Park (Parque da Caiera) (south zone).
Things to do
Solidarity Fest (Festa da Solidariedade). June. Joinville Dance Festival (Festival de Dança de Joinville),. 10 days in late July. Considered the biggest dance festival in the world, thousands of dancers from all over Brazil and beyond flock to the city, making it possibly the best time to visit the city.
Where to eat
In addition to the standard array of Brazilian, Italian, and Middle Eastern food that can be found pretty much anywhere in Brazil, Joinville is an excellent place to enjoy traditional German and Swiss cuisine, and restaurants of this type can be found throughout the city.
Getting around Joinville the local way
- Go nextBlumenau São Francisco do Sul - It could be worth making the trip to this a fishing community on an island across from Joinville; it is around a 30-minute drive by car, or can be reached by ferry from Vigorelli Beach (See section above).
From Wikivoyage: Joinville, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Bernard Gagnon (CC BY 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.