Interesting places in brazil

BRASILIA

The capital city of Brazil, built in the middle of the 20th century with a current population of nearly 2 millions. It was built to promote the economy in the central part of the country and to unburden the overpopulated Rio de Janeiro. As it is a young city, it does not have any historical monuments. The majority of buildings are modern governmental institutions and office buildings. Nevertheless, there are a few interesting buildings with a unique and postmodern architecture.

The town plan is very interesting, because the city was built in the shape of an airplane or, as other people claim, in the shape of a strained bow and arrow. The city plan is based on two axises. East-west is an axis with monumental and functional buildings, all offices and governmental institutions are located here. The north-south axis is bent into a bow. It creates „the wings of the airplane” and it is a housing area. The majority of embassies is also located here. At the place, where the axises cross over, the main square, called the Square of the Three Powers, is located. Next to it, there is one of the most interesting buildings in the city- the metropolitan cathedral. The major part of the building lies underground. Behind the cathedral, there is the Palace of the Dawn which is the residence of the President of Brazil. The palace lies on a peninsula at the bank of Lake Paranoá.

The monumental governmental buildings are also interesting. They were all built on the main axis of Brasília spreading from the west to the east. The seats of particular ministries are located here. The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the parliament draw much attention. Moreover, a building of the Ministry of Justice is also interesting. The characteristic features of the city are its extensiveness, huge spaces, and the lack of coziness. The city was also designed in such a way, not to forget recreation areas for its inhabitants. Apart from the shores of Lake Paranoá, a nature reserve, Park Nacional de Brasília, is also a recreation area for the city’s inhabitants.

RIO DE JANEIRO

A huge and probably the best- known Brazilian city in the world, with the population of almost 11 millions. The beginnings of the former capital city of Brazil date back to the 16th century. This city, located picturesquely among granite walls, is also one of the most popular resorts of Brazil. Beaches of Rio de Janeiro, known in the whole world, are always crowded and full of attractions for tourists visiting them. The most popular beach is the 4.5-kilometer long Copacabana. A district with the same name, thanks to its numerous restaurants, hotels and rich cuisine, became a tourist centre of Rio de Janerio. The Ipanema beach is preferred by a richer part of the society. The Cemetério dos Elefantes is a favorite place of hippies and artists. Due to its tradition from many centuries, the city has a lot of monuments and interesting architecture. The main square in the city is Praça Floriano. It is a favorite place of afternoon and evening meetings among the inhabitants of Rio. Once, the Praça Tridentes surrounded by monumental theatre buildings played a dominant role here. On Praça Quinze de Novembro, there is an interesting fountain in the shape of a pyramid dating back to 1789. Nearby, next to the bay, there is the emperor’s palace. Currently, it is a seat of a popular cultural center. The oldest church in the city is the St. Anthony monastery from 1608. The sacristy is decorated by low reliefs and popular Portuguese tiles called azulejos. The Avenida 13 de Maio street, available only for pedestrians, leads to it. On a high hill, there is a picturesquely located Sao Beno monastery. The best way to get there, is to take a lift from Rua Dom Geraldo 40. Another attraction of Rio de Janeiro is also one of the biggest sport stadiums in the world called Maracan

However, Rio de Janerio is mainly known for its loud and colorful carnival and its inherent element, i.e., Brazilian samba – a dance art with African roots which won a lot of popularity in the world. There are more than 20 schools of samba in Rio de Janeiro, and there are also many lively nightclubs, disco and other attractions. Opera performances and concerts take place in a magnificent building in the Municipal Theatre in Praça Floriano. Theatre performances and dance shows take place in both the Teatro Joao Caetano and the Teatro Carlos Gomez in Praça Tridentis.

Museums willingly visited by tourists from all over the world prove the long history and rich culture of the city. The best-known museums include:

? Brazil Art Gallery (Galeria de Arte Brasiliera) – the best collection of art in Rio de Janerio. A famous cafe of Cândil Portinari is located here.

? Edisona Carneiro Folklore Museum (Museu do Folclore Edson Carneiro), Rua do Catete 181 – it has an excellent exhibition of folklore art. There is also a possibility to by music records with regional music.

? The National Museum of Brazil (Museu Nacional), Quinta da Boa Vista – is located in a former emperor’s place. It has interesting natural and archeological collections.

? Contemporary Art Museum (Museo de Arte Moderna) – is located in a huge air hangar next to the bay. The building and its surroundings were designed by a famous Brazilian town planner - Burle Marx.

RIO BRANCO

A city that is a wonderful combination of people, faiths, customs and architecture. The past and the present coexist here in the local squares, museums, public buildings and parks. This combination can be observed, for example, in the Nossa Senhora de Nazaré Cathedral’s building which was built in 1959 in the style of Roman basilica and in the Igrejinha de Ferro Chapel made of iron plates. The Rio Branco Palace with Ionic columns, which gave it a look of a Greek temple, is also worth seeing. To learn more about rubber production and about picking Brazilian nuts, it is worth to visit the Casa do Seringueiro. The exhibition of different rubber products can be seen in the Museum of Rubber which has also a collection of prehistoric fossils.

MANAUS

It was previously an important cultural centre, often called the "Paris of the Tropics". Beautiful buildings are a proof of its history, for example: the Amazonas Theatre, the Justice Palace, the Municipal Market and the Rio Negro Palace. One of the most willingly visited places by tourists is a beautiful beach, Ponta Negra, which is located 13 kilometers from the centre and where white sand stands out against dark river water. In the neighborhood, there is the National Research Institute of Amazon – a complex consisting of a botanical garden with many species of plants growing in the Amazon area and a zoological garden where animals living in this region and many species threatened by extinction can be found.

BELEM DO PARA

A very interesting fact is that it is a city, where two thirds of its total area is lying on 5 islands. In the vicinity, there is the biggest marine-river island called Marajó. The colonial architecture is similar to a 17th century Lisbon because the architects wanted to follow its style. Many buildings from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are built in the French style. The city is known for its Emílio Goeldi Museum, which is the centre of studies and research on the Amazonian jungle.

SAO LUIS

The capital city of the district Maranhao, with narrow alleys and palaces with a tile roof, which is listed in the UNESCO List of World Heritage. It comprises approximately 3,000 buildings dating back to 17th- 19th centuries. The most important among them include: the Palácio dos Leoes, which was a fort before 1615, the Cathedral da Se built by Jesuits in 1726, the Carmo Church- one of the oldest in the city built in 1627 and the Arthur Azevedo Theatre built at the beginning of the 19th century. The town is surrounded by beaches and on one of them - Sao Marcos – there are the ruins of the fort.

TERESINA

Lying at the mouth of rivers Parnaíba and Poti, it is called a green city. All its streets are overgrown by trees, particularly by mango trees. The city is most popular in the period of dry weather, between May and November, when the lowering lever of waters shows the sandy sores of the lakes. Many interesting buildings are located in the city, for example, St. Benedict Church from 1886 with carved wooden doors and the Theatre of the 4th September in a neoclassical style, opened in 1893.

PARAIBA

It is its second attraction. It is a second city in the world as far as the amount of the green areas is concerned. In the center of the city, there are still preserved some parts of the Atlantic forest, for example, Parque da Bica with a zoo and botanical garden or Mata and Buraquinho. Tourists are attracted by a 230-kilometer long coast with the most popular beaches of this region such as, for example, Tambaú and Manaíra, located in the neighborhood of the capital city.

SALVADOR

One of the biggest tourist attractions and the third- biggest city in Brazil at the same time. It was founded in 1549 as the first capital city of Brazil and it was a centre of trade of such products as sugar, tobacco, gold, diamonds and slaves coming from Africa for two centuries. It also benefited much from stock farming in the further parts of the country. It was a colonial capital city until 1763, when the situation on a sugar market worsened and Rio de Janeiro turned out to be the leading city in this aspect. The city started to develop thanks to oil, chemical industry and tourism. The remnants of its previous magnificence can still be found in the city, and they include the cathedral, which is an example of Portuguese architecture, a church and the St. Francis monastery, which is one of the richest sacral complexes of Brazil with a beautiful, Baroque façade. There are numerous museums in the city, for example, the Museum of Sacral Art and the Museum of Modern Art.