Sights in Brasília
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Memorial JK
The tomb of JK (President Juscelino Kubitschek) lies underneath eerily beautiful stained glass by French artist Marianne Peretti inside the Memorial JK. The museum houses JK’s 3000-book-strong personal library as well as a pictorial history of Brasília. Don’t miss his 1973 Ford Galaxie just outside the back door.
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Santuário Dom Bosco
Santuário Dom Bosco is made of 80 concrete columns that support 7500 pieces of illuminated Murano glass symbolizing a starry sky, and which cast a blue submarine glow over the pews. The central chandelier weighs 2.5 tonnes and adds an amazing 435 light bulbs’ worth of energy to the monthly electricity bill.
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Praça dos Trés Poderes
Down in the cockpit, you'll find the most interesting buildings surrounding the Praça dos Trés Poderes. It's a synthesis of the ideas of architects Niemeyer and Costa, combining various monuments, museums and federal buildings. The space includes striking sculptures including Bruno Giorgi's Os Candangos, Alfredo Ceschiatti's A Justiça and Niemeyer's O Pombal.
If you're lucky enough to visit on the first Sunday of the month, the military pulls out all stops for the ceremonial changing of Brasília's tallest and largest flag, a 286-sq-m banner on a flagpole conceived by Sergio Bernardes, the only edifice in the square not designed by Niemeyer.
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Templo da Boa Vontade
The Templo da Boa Vontade was created by the Legion of Goodwill in 1989 as a symbol of universal solidarity. It incorporates seven pyramids, joined to form a cone that is topped with the biggest raw crystal you will ever see (it weighs in at 21kg). To view it, you must take off your shoes and walk along the spiraling inner circle via the black path. You must return on the white path (do not screw this up). It’s all a bit dizzying. There is also an interesting Egyptian room for meditation (R$2) that will make you feel like King Tut (of course, they take all of this very seriously, so let’s keep these jokes between us). Get there on bus 105 or 107 from the city bus station.…
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Congresso Nacional
Featuring the photogenic ‘dishes’ and twin towers, the congress building, Congresso Nacional, is one of the more interesting buildings on the inside as well. In addition to the color-coded chambers of the Senate (blue) and House of Representatives (green) – so ’60s gauche – there is an architecturally interesting ‘Tunnel of Time’ and an exhibit of antique Senate benches and microphones from 1867. The convex dome on the roof of the House of Representatives is supposed to signify that membership is open to all ideologies.
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Palácio do Planalto
The president's office, the Palácio do Planalto, is another Niemeyer design that's worth seeing, both inside and out. From the curved lines of the exterior to the lustrous columns and sweeping curved ramp inside, it's one of the best examples of architectural Modernism in the world. On the tour, which is only available on Sundays, you can even peek into the President's office.
There is a ceremonial changing of the guards outside the gates every hour on weekends and every two hours during the week.
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Cidade Ecléctica
About 63km west of Brasília, near the town of Santo Antônio do Descoberto (Goiás), is the Cidade Ecléctica. Founded in 1956 by Yokanam, who was once an airline pilot, the group’s aim is to unify all religions on the planet through fraternity and equality. You’re welcome to attend its ceremonies, but there are strict dress regulations. Women cannot wear long pants (skirts only) and men cannot wear shorts. If you’re not dressed suitably, you’ll be given a special tunic to wear.
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Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil
Brasília’s most important contemporary museum, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil is in a giant building in the South Sports Club Sector. It houses fascinating exhibitions in two galleries, an indie cinema, a café and a bookstore. The monthly cultural program is posted online at twitter.com/CCBB_DF (in Portuguese). There is a free bus every 90 minutes (from 11am to 11pm) that runs along the Eixo Monumental (look for the painted bus that says CCBB).
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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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Catedral Metropolitana
With its 16 curved columns and its wavy stained-glass interior, the Catedral Metropolitana is heavenly viewing. At the entrance are the haunting Four Disciples statues carved by Ceschiatti, who also made the aluminum angels hanging inside. Visitors who bemoaned the number of broken stained-glass panels will be glad to hear that they were undergoing a thorough repair at the time of research.
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Palácio do Itamaraty
Palácio do Itamaraty is home to the Foreign Ministry and one of the most impressive buildings – a series of arches towering over a reflecting pool and floating gardens landscaped by Burle Marx. Outside, the Bruno Giorgi sculpture Meteor consists of five marble blocks, each representing a continent. Call in advance to schedule your tour of the interior.
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Money Museum
Numismatists will also be interested in a visit to the money museum in the Banco Central do Brasil opposite Caixa Federal. Cash from around the world is on show, as well as a complete set of Brazilian currency, including a 1,000,000 Cruzeiro note. You’ll need to show your passport to get in – they take no chances.
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Museu dos Povos Indígenas
In a Niemeyer building inspired by the circular form of the indigenous Yanomani hut, is the Museu dos Povos Indígenas, a small but colorful display of indigenous artifacts put together by anthropologists Darcy and Berta Ribeiro and Eduardo Galvão. A sandy central courtyard is still used for tribal rituals.
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Caixa Federal
In the lobby of the Caixa Federal is a small museum of financial bits and pieces, ranging from old lottery tickets through to wooden safes. The exhibits themselves are of only passing interest, but the gorgeous stained-glass murals, each one representing a Brazilian state, make it worth the visit.
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TV Tower
The 75m-high observation deck of the TV Tower is the second-best place to get a bird's-eye view of the city (after a helicopter ride), but it's still not tall enough to really get a sense of the city's airplane design. That's not a favela at its base; a handicrafts fair runs on weekends and holidays.
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Espaço Cultural Lucio Costa
Down a concealed flight of steps on the praça itself is the Espaço Cultural Lucio Costa. Inside you will find a 170-sq-meter scale map of the Plano Piloto plus images of the city during its construction and early occupation. There is even a map of the city in braille.
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Museu Nacional
A spherical half-dome by architect Oscar Niemeyer, the inside features a discreet mezzanine mostly held up by columns suspended from the roof. A signature curved ramp juts out from its base and runs around the outside like a ring of Saturn.
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Biblioteca Nacional
The massive exterior of the new working national library, the Biblioteca Nacional, is long finished, but they still haven’t loaded all the books. Free guided tours of the structure are available every half hour.
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Palácio da Justiça
Outside the Palácio da Justiça, water cascades between its arches into a koi fish pond; inside is a lovely internal garden. Don't show up in shorts or Havaianas.
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Parque da Cidade
A good park not far from the city center is the Parque da Cidade, where you’ll find a swimming pool with artificial waves, and kiosks to grab a snack.
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