Belém

Belém needs 2 days: touring the Ver-o-Peso Market, the largest open-air market in Latin America by the river, with its fish and Amazonian herb stalls, on one, and the colonial ensemble of Cidade Velha (Old Town), with the Presépio Fort that gave rise to the city in 1616, on the other. June-November is the dry season. It's mid-priced by Brazilian standards. Located at the mouth of the Amazon river, it's the historic gateway to the Amazon rainforest from the Atlantic, and its Círio de Nazaré festival, with over a million faithful every October, is one of the most crowded Catholic processions in the world.