Rio de Janeiro Monuments & Museums

"Rio de Janeiro See

Sights

* Corcovado  - The train up costs R$45 for a round trip up to Cristo Redentor, and it is definitely worth the view.
* Pão de Açúcar - The Sugar Loaf mountains (one taller, the other shorter), Brazil's top landmark, with an aerial tramway to the top; a definite must see. A ticket up is R$ 45. The buses number 511, 512, 591 and 592 and the subway buses bring you to the base station.
* Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas - A large lagoon in the middle of South Zone, with great views to Corcovado and Ipanema and Leblon beaches; there are skating and jogging fields all around it.
* Maracanã - The largest football/soccer stadium in Rio and once the largest on Earth.
* Parque Lage - A small park, once a private mansion, where now a school of fine arts works.
* Jardim Botanico - The Botanical Garden, planted up in the 1800s. It is both a park and a scientific laboratory. If you take the bus note that Jardim Botanico is also the name of a neighborhood so make sure you take the right one to the entrance. The admission is $4. The gardens are well kept and very lush. Not far from the cafe, first you hear swooshing sounds. Look up and you can see small monkeys swinging from tree to tree.

Buildings

* Paço Imperial (1743) - Old Imperial Palace (though impressively modest), colonial architecture (in downtown, next to Praça XV, Fifteen Square).
* Casa França Brasil (1820) - French cultural center, with gallery and video hall (in downtown, next to CCBB).
* CCBB - Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (1906) - A cultural center with gallery, movie theater, video room, library and stages; usually hosts the main exhibitions in town (in downtown).
* Candelária Church - Neoclassic cathedral (next to CCBB).
* Mosteiro de São Bento (1663) - Saint Benedict's Monastery, colonial architecture (in downtown).
* Ilha Fiscal Palace (1889) - Located in the Guanabara Bay, next to the Navy Museum
* Palácio Gustavo Capanema - Former ministry of culture, designed by French architect Le Corbusier; though small, it is regarded as an important pioneering in modern architecture (downtown).
* Arcos da Lapa (1750) - Lapa Aqueduct, colonial structure that brought water from springs to downtown; now it has a suspended tramway track (in Lapa).
* Catedral Metropolitana - Cone-shaped cathedral, an example of modern architecture (in Lapa).
* São Francisco da Penitência church (1773) - Colonial church.
* Teatro Municipal (1909) - City Theater, inspired by the Paris Opéra House (in Cinelândia square).
* Biblioteca Nacional (1910) - National Library (in Cinelândia square).
* Câmara Municipal - The City Hall, hosts the city council (in Cinelândia square).
* Palácio do Catete - The former presidential palace (1893-1960), now hosts a museum of recent history and nice gardens (in Catete).
* Itamaraty - Former presidential palace (1889-1893) and foreign office; now hosts a museum of South American diplomacy, a library and the UN information offices in Brazil (in Downtown, next to the Central station).
* Palácio Guanabara - Former palace of the Imperial Princess, now governor's office; eclectic architecture; not open to public (in Laranjeiras).

Museums

Downtown

* Museu Histórico Nacional (National Museum of History) - A museum of Brazilian history stretching from colonial to imperial times; big collection of paintings, but poor in artifacts (downtown).
* Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) - Includes large paintings from Academicist and Neoclassical Brazilian artists, as well as many copies of European sculptures (downtown, Cinelândia square).
* MAM - Museu de Arte Moderna (Museum of Modern Art) - The second most important contemporary art museum in Brazil, after MASP (downtown, next to Santos Dumont airport). Modernist architecture spreading over almost the sea.
* Museu da Imagem e do Som (Image and Sound Museum) - For researchers about Brazilian film, radio, and broadcasting industry (downtown).
* Museu Naval (Navy Museum) - Located downtown.
* Museu do Carnaval (Museum of Carnival) - History of Brazilian carnival and parades (in downtown, next to the Sambódromo).
* Museu Chácara do Céu - An important collection of South American modern art (in Santa Tereza).

South Zone

* Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden) - Not a museum per se, but a huge collection of plants from all over the world, not only tropical, yet you will find Amazon trees and river flowers as well in the same-named neighborhood.
* Museu da República (Museum of the Republic) - Hosted on the former presidential palace, this museum hosts permanent exhibitions about recent Brazilian history (from 1889 on); one of main features is the room where president Getúlio Vargas shot himself in 1954 (in Catete).
* Centro Cultural Telemar (Telemar Cultural Center) - Formerly Museum of Telephone, it now hosts a fine gallery with temporary exhibitions of digital art or art with interactive medias; it is sponsored by the local phone company (in Catete).
* Museu Internacional de Arte Naïf (International Naïf Art Museum) - In Cosme Velho, next to Corcovado rail station.
* Museu Carmem Miranda (Carmem Miranda Museum) - About this Brazilian actress and singer (the lady with pineapples-and-bananas hat), the national icon in the 1940s and 50s (in Flamengo).
* Museu do Índio (Museum of the Indian) - A small museum with a collection of Brazilian Indian (povos indígenas) photographs, paintings, artifacts and other craft (in Botafogo). Very popular with local schoolchildren, but has much for adults as well.
* Museu Villa-Lobos - A modest collection about Brazil's most important composer (in Botafogo).

North Zone

* Museu Nacional (National Museum) - Actually, it's the Natural History museum, with dinosaur fossils and lots of mounted tanned animals; go there if you want to see a jaguar without getting into the jungle; it was formerly the Emperor's Palace (in São Cristóvão, just next to the Zoo).
* Museu do Primeiro Reinado (First Reign Museum) - A museum about the reign of Emperor Pedro I (1822-1831), but with a modest collection (in São Cristóvão).
* Museu Museu de Astronomia e Ciências Afins (Astronomy Museum) - Also has an observatory (in São Cristóvão).
* Museu do Trem (Train Museum) - A modest collection of 19th century engines, train cars and streetcars (in Engenho de Dentro).
* Museu Aeroespacial (Aerospatial Museum) - Located in Campo dos Afonsos (in the suburbs).

West Zone

* Museu Casa do Pontal - The most important collection of popular arts and crafts (in Recreio dos Bandeirantes).

Parks

* Jardim Botânico
* Parque Lage
* Parque do Flamengo, also known as Aterro do Flamengo.
* Parque Guinle
* Campo de Santana
* Quinta da Boa Vista
* Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos"