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SBAC-PAD will be located at the Convention Center of the Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, named Parque Metalúrgico. There will be buses from all conference hotels to the convention center.

The former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, 96 km from Belo Horizonte, was founded
in 1698, when explorers from São Paulo entered Minas Gerais territory looking for gold.
In this city began the liberation movement known as Inconfidência Mineira, which
intended to free Brazil from Portugal.

Ouro Preto was recognized as part of the Cultural Heritage of Mankind by UNESCO for
the importance and grandeur of its baroque architecture and art collection, especially the
work of Aleijadinho and Mestre Athaide. Among these is the church of São Francisco de
Assis, which is considered a masterpiece of Brazilian baroque, a style reinvented in Brazil, which influenced the most varied aspects of plastic and visual, scenic and literary creation. There are also the churches of Nossa Senhora do Pilar, Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Nossa Senhora do Carmo, the Museum of the Inconfidência, the Marília de Direceu bridge and the well-known Solar da Baronesa.

Other tourist highlights are the Casa dos Contos and the Inconfidência and Oratório
museums. Ouro Preto also has several ecotourism options with the waterfalls and trails
of Lavras Novas and Cachoeira do Campo.

Getting to Ouro Preto

Belo Horizonte, the state capital, is served by two airports: Confins(CNF) and Pampulha (PLU). Confins is the largest and the farthest airport, being located 40km from Belo Horizonte downtown and 130km from Ouro Preto while Pampulha is located 10km from downtown and 100km from Ouro Preto. Most flights arrive at Confins and, if you are coming from abroad, you are going to connect through São Paulo - Guarulhos (GRU) or Rio de Janeiro - Galeão (GIG).

Once you get to the airport, you may go to Ouro Preto by cab, bus, or car.
You may also request the transfer that is being organized by the symposium travel agency.

There are two types of cabs at the airport: standard and special. Standard cabs are white and you usually pay by distance, although you may try to make prior arrangements with the driver, considering the long distance trip. Special cabs are blue and you have to prepay the trip at booths located in the airport. The cost in both cases is about 150 Brazilian Reais (approximately 70 US Dollars). Special cabs are usually more confortable.

There are also buses that go to Belo Horizonte bus station or Belo Horizonte downtown. In both cases you still have to go to Ouro Preto and employ one of the options mentioned. If you go by bus, take the bus to the bus station.

If you go by car, you'll have to traverse Belo Horizonte, handling pretty heavy traffic, and will take a single-lane road across the mountains towards Ouro Preto. Most of the rental cars are not automatic. If you are not used to Brazilian traffic, it may be a quite hectic trip.