Brasília and Belo Horizonte are Brazil's two major interior capitals, but they couldn't feel more different: one is a UNESCO-listed modernist capital built from scratch in 1960, the other a hillier, older city shaped by Niemeyer's early work and easy access to colonial mining towns.
Brasília is Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa's grand statement: the Praça dos Três Poderes, Congresso Nacional, and Palácio do Planalto line up along the Eixo Monumental and Esplanada dos Ministérios, a single capital built from nothing in 1960. Belo Horizonte's Pampulha holds his earlier, smaller-scale prototype — the Igreja da Pampulha beside the Lagoa da Pampulha — intimate rather than monumental.
Brasília's Museu Nacional da República and the swooping Catedral Metropolitana de Brasília are single standout stops, best seen as part of the Architectural Walking Tours around Praça dos Três Poderes. Belo Horizonte spreads its art across the Museu de Arte de Belo Horizonte (MABH) downtown and the Museu de Arte da Pampulha (MAP) in a former casino, giving it more variety but less of one iconic building.
Brasília's Lago Paranoá is vast but functional, more scenic backdrop than destination in itself. Belo Horizonte works better for wandering: the Parque Municipal das Mangabeiras offers hiking trails with skyline views, while Savassi and Pampulha give the city real neighborhood life — cafes, bars, and the Praça da Liberdade — that Brasília's zoned, car-oriented layout doesn't really have.
Brasília's Architectural Walking Tours are really the city's main organized activity, covering its Niemeyer landmarks in a few hours since there isn't much outside the capital worth the drive. Belo Horizonte's Pampulha Architectural Tour does the same for its Niemeyer complex, but the city also has Ouro Preto, one of Brazil's best-preserved colonial towns, as an easy and worthwhile day trip.
Choose Brasília for its concentrated, UNESCO-listed modernist core and monumental scale. Choose Belo Horizonte for varied museums, real neighborhood life in Savassi, and the easy day trip to Ouro Preto. Brasília rewards a short, focused visit; Belo Horizonte suits travelers who want more to explore.