Sights in The Southeast
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Edifício Martinelli
Just west of BOVESPA rises the 35-story Edifício Martinelli, São Paulo's first skyscraper. The soaring 1929 Beaux Arts structure seems to have been imported wholesale from turn-of-the-20th-century Manhattan. The building doesn't accept visitors.
reviewed
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B
Chafariz de São José
Constructed in 1749 by the town council, this beautiful fountain has three sections: one for drinking, one for washing clothes and one for watering horses. The water comes from a nearby spring, Mãe d'Agua, via an old stone pipeline.
reviewed
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Santa Clara Cachoeira
The Santa Clara Cachoeira, the nicest waterfall in the area, is a 40-minute walk north of Maringá on the Ribeirão Santa Clara. Ask the locals for directions. For a bit of a hike, climb up through the bamboo groves on either side of the falls.
reviewed
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Memorial da Liberdade
The ground floor of the Estação Júlio Prestes houses the Memorial da Liberdade, a simple but powerful exhibit occupying cells used to imprison and torture political dissidents during Brazil's military dictatorship of the 1960s and '70s.
reviewed
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D
Astronomical Observatory
The Museu de Ciência e Técnica da Escola de Minas , in the old governor's palace north of Praça Tiradentes, features dazzling gemstones from around the world. There's also an astronomical observatory .
reviewed
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Museu de Artes e Ofícios
The new Museu de Artes e Ofícios, in Belo’s historic train station, houses a wide-ranging collection of objects used in the daily lives of Mineiros past and present. There are interpretive cards in English adjacent to each exhibit.
reviewed
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Casa de Juscelino Kubitschek
Casa de Juscelino Kubitschek, childhood home of the former president, reflects his simple upbringing as the grandson of poor Czech immigrants. Kubitschek himself believed that his early life in Diamantina influenced him greatly.
reviewed
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Bovespa
Bovespa is Latin America’s largest stock exchange. There is no longer a live trading floor to visit, but the beautiful main lobby serves as a de facto museum, with small but often excellent temporary exhibits of Brazilian art.
reviewed
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Museu do Padre Toledo
This museum is dedicated to another hero of the Inconfidência, Padre Toledo, who lived in this 18-room house where the Inconfidêntes first met. It features regional antiques and documents from the 18th century.
reviewed
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Catedral de NS do Pilar
Begun in 1721, the Catedral de NS do Pilar has exuberant gold altars and fine Portuguese tiles. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the Lira Sanjoanense, or Coalhada (all-white) orchestra and choir, accompany the 7pm Mass.
reviewed
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Museu Casa da Hera
Museu Casa da Hera, former home of the aristocratic heiress Eufrásia Teixeira Leite, displays antique hand-carved furniture and other colonial relics. It was closed indefinitely for restoration at the time of research.
reviewed
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Museu do Diamante
Between Praça JK and the cathedral is the house of Padre Rolim, one of the Inconfidêntes. It’s now the Museu do Diamante, exhibiting religious art, old photos, furniture, weapons, and other relics of the diamond days.
reviewed
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Igreja São Batista
While the bulk of the old town was built in the 19th century, there are a few buildings that date to the 16th century, such as the Igreja São Batista . Unfortunately, many buildings in the town are in varying states of disrepair.
reviewed
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Museu de Ciência e Técnica da Escola de Minas
The Museu de Ciência e Técnica da Escola de Minas, in the old governor’s palace north of Praça Tiradentes, features dazzling gemstones from around the world. There’s also an astronomical observatory.
reviewed
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Museu de Arte Sacra
In a building that served as the public jail between 1737 and 1850, the Museu de Arte Sacra reopened after a 12-year renovation in March 2010. It has a small but impressive collection of art from the city’s churches.
reviewed
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Estação Júlio Prestes
A short walk west of Estação da Luz is this large and grand train station in turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts style, though only completed in the 1930s. Part of the station is still a stop on the suburban train system.
reviewed
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Catedral da Sé
Crowning the Praça da Sé is the domed Catedral da Sé, a huge neo-Byzantine concoction that, for better or worse, replaced the original 18th-century structure in the 1920s. Still, its lush interior is worth a gander.
reviewed
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K
Casa dos Contos
Casa dos Contos is an 18th-century treasury building that doubled as a prison for members of the Inconfidência. The renovated mansion now houses displays on the history of gold – and money in general – in Brazil.
reviewed
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Jardim Zoológico
Located in Parque do Estado, Jardim Zoológico is Brazil's largest zoo. It's home to some 3000 animal species and is spread out over some 900 hectares, much of which is old-growth Mata Atlântica (Atlantic rain forest).
reviewed
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Ilha do Cardoso
The highlight of the region is Ilha do Cardoso, an ecological reserve of gorgeous natural pools, waterfalls and untouched beaches, which has only 400 residents and no cars. There are daily boats from the port in Cananéia.
reviewed
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Igreja do Carmo
On the other side of Praça da Sé stands the more modest but also more authentic Igreja do Carmo, which dates to the 1630s and still preserves its original high altar. At writing it was closed for major restoration.
reviewed
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Museu de Arte de Pampulha
The Museu de Arte de Pampulha, with its cute garden designed by landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, is worth a look. It was designed as a casino and shows the obvious modernist influence of Le Corbusier.
reviewed
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Capela de NS das Dores
Capela de NS das Dores, the church of the colonial white elite, was built in 1800 and renovated in 1901. It houses a small art gallery and a fascinating cemetery in the inner courtyard.
reviewed
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Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil
Housed in an extraordinarily and lovingly restored Beaux Arts building, this cultural center holds innovative exhibitions of contemporary art as well as excellent film series and theater performances.
reviewed
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Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil
Housed in an extraordinarily and lovingly restored Beaux Arts building, the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil holds innovative exhibitions of contemporary art as well as excellent film series and theatre performances.
reviewed