Rua Halfeld is the main pedestrian street of Juiz de Fora, running through the commercial heart of the city centre. Named after the German engineer Heinrich Wilhelm Halfeld, who helped plan the city in the 19th century, it is the best place to get a sense of the city's Belle Epoque ambitions — several facades along the street date from the coffee-boom era, when local merchants built with European pretensions.
The street is lined with shops, coffee bars, and street vendors, and is busiest on weekday afternoons when university students and office workers fill the pavements. Look up: many of the buildings above the ground-floor shopfronts retain ornate plasterwork, wrought-iron balconies, and tiled facades that date from the early 1900s. The Praça João Pessoa at one end provides a shaded square with benches.