Sights in Brazil
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Forte do Presépio
The city of Belém was founded in 1616 with the construction of the Forte do Presépio, which was intended to protect Portuguese interests upriver against incursions by the French and Dutch. Today it houses a small but excellent museum, primarily about Pará’s indigenous communities (displays in Portuguese only). There are great views of the city and Amazon River from atop the fort’s thick stone walls.
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Parque Ecológico do Côco
Parque Ecológico do Côco was set up in 1991 after local ecological groups pressed for protection of the mangrove swamps from encroaching highways and the industrial zone. It's Fortaleza's most popular recreational park, and organizes activities to promote environmental awareness in its visitors. A boat tour along the Río Côco will allow you to fully appreciate the park's wildlife and unique flora.
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Edifício Copan
The remarkable Edifício Copan's serpentine façade and narrow brises-soleil have become a symbol of the city. Modernist master Oscar Niemeyer designed the building to bring together all classes by including sprawling apartments for the rich as well as tiny studios for the working poor. You can visit its snaking, sloping ground-floor shopping arcade, but the private apartments on the upper floors are off-limits.
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City Center
The city center is located on a beach-lined point that reaches into the mouth of the Rio Cachoeira, and is sandwiched between two hills. On the southern side of the s-curving river mouth is the modern neighborhood of Pontal. The best thing to do in Ilhéus is explore the old streets. The center has several old, gargoyled buildings. Lively during the day, the center clears out after dark, making it unsafe to wander.
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Centro Cultural Justiça Federal
The stately building overlooking the Praça Floriano served as the headquarters of the Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal) from 1909 to 1960. Following its recent restoration, it’s become the Federal Justice Cultural Center, featuring exhibitions focused above all on photography and Brazilian art, though some fascinating exhibits from abroad sometimes make their way here. There’s a pleasant café on the ground floor.
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Centro de Referência do Artesanato Brasileiro
This new museum, which opened in 2009, showcases the craft-making traditions all across Brazil. Changing exhibits feature woodcarvings, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, metal work, basket weaving and even recycled materials in the creation of both popular and sacred art. Although nothing here is for sale, if you're interested in a particular piece, the staff can provide contact information for any of the artists represented.
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Beaches
Arraial's prime attractions lie along the shoreline. Praia dos Anjos has beautiful turquoise water but a little too much boat traffic for comfortable swimming. Favorite beaches within short walking distance of town are: Prainha to the north of town; Praia do Forno (accessed by a 1km walking trail from Praia dos Anjos) to the northeast; and the vast Praia Grande to the west, where wilder surf races in off the open Atlantic.
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Parque Nacional de Brasília
In the northern reaches of the city limits, the 30-sq-km Parque Nacional de Brasília is a good place to relax. It has natural swimming pools and is home to a number of threatened animals, including deer, anteaters, giant armadillos and maned wolves. The park is very popular on weekends and there’s a visitors’ center where you can get information. Bus 128.1 from the city bus station goes past the front gate.
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Museu da República
The Museu da República, located in the Palácio do Catete, has been wonderfully restored. Built between 1858 and 1866 and easily distinguished by the bronze condors on the eaves, the palace was home to the president of Brazil from 1896 until 1954, when President Getúlio Vargas committed suicide here.
He had made powerful enemies in the armed forces and the political right wing, and was attacked in the press as a communist for his attempts to raise the minimum wage and increase taxes on the middle and upper classes. Tensions reached a critical level when one of Vargas' bodyguards fired shots at a journalist. Although the journalist was unharmed, an air force officer…
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Centro Cultural Oi Futuro
One of Rio's most visually exciting new additions is this modern arts center on the edge of Flamengo. With 2000 sq meters of exhibition space spread across six floors, the center features temporary multimedia installations that run the gamut from architecture and urban design to pop art, to photo-journalism and to eye-catching video art. There's also a permanent exhibition on the history of telecommunications in Brazil. The top floor houses an auditorium where visitors can attend concerts and plays, or catch a documentary.
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Museu da Misericórdia
The Museu da Misericórdia is housed in a marvelous 17th-century edifice, this one serving as Brazil’s first hospital. Visits here include a guided tour (in Portuguese) that allows a glimpse of fine period furnishings, portraits and assorted finery dating back four centuries. You’ll also see the attached Igreja da Misericórdia, with its azulejos and a sacristy featuring impressive 18th-century woodwork.
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Monumento Bandeiras
At the north entrance of Parque do Ibirapuera, stands Victor Brecheret's huge Monumento Bandeiras, erected in 1953 in memory of the city's early pioneers.
A meandering duck pond takes up much of the western half of the park, and around it are arranged a series of shaded walks, including the Bosque da Leitura - a woodsy section that on Sundays turns into an open-air library where you can check out books for the afternoon.
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Fundação Maria Luisa e Oscar Americano
Home of the couple who developed the leafy, upscale suburb of Morumbi, Fundação Maria Luisa e Oscar Americano makes a fine retreat as much for its gardens as for its collection of painting, sculpture and objets d’art from the 18th to 20th centuries. The 1950s house turned museum is a small masterpiece of Brazilian modernism, and there’s also a lovely café that serves traditional high tea for R$50.
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Basilica Santuario de Nazaré
A bit humdrum from the outside, the Basilica Santuario de Nazaré has a truly spectacular interior, with soaring marble columns, brilliant stained-glass windows and ornate wood and tile work in every direction, even the ceiling, with faces peering straight down. The basilica is the focal point of Brazil’s largest religious festival, Círio de Nazaré, which draws more than a million worshippers to Belém every October.
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Fundação Chico Mendes
The visitors center of the Fundação Chico Mendes contains wall-size photos of Chico Mendes with his wife and children, tapping rubber trees, and leading empate s – work stoppages designed to stop clear-cutting in the rain forest. There are some personal effects, including the blood-stained clothes and bath towel he had when he was murdered, and numerous awards given to Mendes, both before and after he died.
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Museu Carlos Costa Pinta
In a lovely two-story mansion, the Museu Carlos Costa Pinta houses one of Salvador's best collections of decorative art. Nicely lit displays highlight the unique works of talented artisans working in gold, crystal, porcelain and silver. Beautifully carved coral jewelry, tortoiseshell fans and elaborate balangandans (ethnic waist chains with attached charms) are among the highlights. Don't miss the charming outdoor café.
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Museu da Imigração Japonesa
This modest but fascinating museum, on the 7th floor of a Liberdade office building, documents the arrival and integration of the Japanese community. Photos, period objects and a full-scale reconstruction of a typical immigrant’s farm lodging tell a poignant story, from the arrival in Santos of the first 781 settlers aboard the Kasato-Maru in 1908 through to today. Signage is in Japanese and Portuguese only.
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Rua Oscar Freire
On the southern slope of Paulista lies Jardins, the city's leafiest and chicest central neighborhood. This is where you will find some of the city's most over-the-top shopping, especially along Alameda Lorena and, above all, Rua Oscar Freire, with its show-stopping series of boutiques and super-refined eateries. A recent face-lift has Oscar Freire looking better than ever (and the same can be said for many of its most avid shoppers).
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Vila Mosqueiro
The island's main town, Vila Mosqueiro, is on the southwest tip of the island. Av Beira Mar, the main drag, starts in town at Praia Farol and runs northward along the shore past Praia Chapéu, Praia do Murubira, Praia Marahú and Praia Paraíso, in that order. The other main road in Vila Mosqueiro is Av 16 de Novembro, which intersects with Av Beira Mar between Praia Farol and Praia Chapéu, at a small plaza and church.
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Praça Floriano
The heart of modern Rio, the Praça Floriano comes to life at lunchtime and after work when the outdoor cafés are filled with beer drinkers, samba musicians and political debate. The square is also Rio's political marketplace and is the site of daily speechmaking, literature sales and street theater. Most city marches and rallies culminate here on the steps of the old Câmara Municipal in the northwestern corner of the plaza.
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Museu das Culturas Dom Bosco
The Museu das Culturas Dom Bosco has undergone a R$2 million relocation to a new building designed by Italian architect Massimo Chiappetta a few kilometers from its old city-center location. The new space, a 3400-sq-meter expansion houses an excellent collection of over 10,000 insects. There is a beautiful new exhibit of indigenous Bororo headdresses and other artifacts from the indigenous Moro, Karajá and Xavante groups.
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Praia da Rosa
Santa Catarina's swankiest seaside town, Praia da Rosa, has two main attractions: a set of stunning, nearly pristine beaches and a sophisticated, eco-aware population. Oh, and many opportunities for surfing. In winter, the bay becomes a breeding ground for southern right whales, and mothers and calves can be seen from the beach. Instituto Baleia Franca, a conservation group created to protect and study these unique mammals, is based here.
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Jardim Botânico
The northern tip of Parque do Estado is given over to the Jardim Botânico, a well-tended botanical garden that includes a promenade of imperial palms, an orchid farm, picturesque ponds, a stand of brazilwood trees and a herb garden where you are encouraged to smell the aromatic flowers and leaves. An open-air café offers snacks, plus a simple but fresh and well-prepared per-kilo buffet lunch (R$25 per kg).
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Mercado Ver-o-Peso
A symbol of the city, the name of this waterfront market comes from colonial times, when the Portuguese would ver o peso (check the weight) of merchandise in order to impose taxes. The market’s four-turreted iron structure is known, aptly enough, as the Mercado do Ferro. It was brought over in parts from Britain, and assembled and inaugurated in 1901. A profile of the turrets is commonly used as a symbol of Belém.
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Museu da Imigração Japonesa
This modest but fascinating Museum of Japanese Immigration, on the 7th floor of a Liberdade office building, documents the arrival and integration of the Japanese community. Photos, period objects and a full-scale reconstruction of a typical immigrant's farm lodging tell a poignant story, from the arrival in Santos of the first 781 settlers aboard the Kasato-Maru in 1908 through to today. Signage is in Japanese and Portuguese only.
reviewed