Brazil - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 313

Consulates Chile, Rua Marquês de Caravelas, casa 08,
Parque das Laranjeiras ( T 92 3236 6888); Colombia, Rua
24 de Maio 220, Ed. Rio Negro Centre, Centro ( T 92 3234
6777); UK, Rua Poraquê 240 ( T 92 6132 1819); Ecuador,
Rua 6 no.16, Conj. Jardim Belo Horizonte, Parque 10
( T 92 3236 3698); Venezuela, Rua Rio Jutaí 839, Vieiralves
( T 92 3584 3828).
Hospital For tropical complaints the best is the Instituto
de Medicina Tropical, Avenida Pedro Teixeira 25 ( T 92
2127 3473).
Internet Cyber Juliana, Av Joaquim Nabuco, at C Bocaiúva
(Mon-Sat 8am-11pm, Sun 9am-11pm; R$2/hr), has a/c
and a good connection; Mix Internet, Rua 24 de Mayo 345
(Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8am-2pm; R$3/hr) is slightly
hemmed-in but central.
Pharmacy Drogueria Nossa Senhora de Nazaré, 7 de
Setembro 1333 ( T 92 3215 2844).
Police The tourist police are located on the lower floor at
the airport (24hr; T 92 3652 1656).
Post o ce Rua Monsenhor Coutinho 90, by Praça do
Congresso; Rua Barroso 226, corner of Rua Saldanha
Marinho (both Mon-Fri 8am-4pm, Sat 8am-noon).
Taxis Atlanta Rádio Taxi T 0800 92 6060, T 92 3622
2525; Coopertaxi T 92 3652 1568; Executivo Rádio Taxi
T 92 3611 1000.

inhabitants. At first glance the gleaming
government buildings and excellent roads
give you the impression that this is the
modern heart of a new world superpower.
Look closer and you'll see cracks in the
concrete structures; drive ten minutes in
any direction and you'll hit kilometres
of low-income housing in the cidades
satélites (poorer satellite cities). This is a
city of diplomats, students, government
workers and the people who serve them.
Prices are high. Still, there are beautiful
sunsets, two or three days' worth of
things to see (more if you want to take in
the best of Goiás), and an exuberant bar
and restaurant scene.

3

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Brasília's layout was designed to resemble
an airplane (some say a bird, others a bow
and arrow). At its centre is a sloped,
grassy plain and two central traffic
arteries, the Eixo Monumental (north/
south) and the Eixo Rodoviário or Eixão
(east/west), which neatly divide the centre
into sectors: administrative, shopping,
banking, commercial and embassy. These
are the treeless (and thus shadeless) parts
of Brasília where pavements are provided
and you can actually walk between many
of the sights. North and south of the
centre are self-contained residential areas
- each with its own shopping, restaurants
and nightlife, each one spaced a long way
from the next. The city is designed for
the car, which means you can end up
spending a lot of cash on taxis. To take
advantage of better and cheaper food in
the city's wings, pick an area with several
restaurants and bars, take a bus there and
walk between quadras (blocks).

Brasília
Much of central Brazil including most of
the state of Goiás, the north and west of
Minas Gerais and the east of Mato Grosso
is dominated by the Planalto Central
(central highlands), a largely dry and
savanna-like cerrado , once covered with low
vegetation and now a centre for ranching
and plantation agriculture. In this
inhospitable landscape almost 1000km
northwest of Rio lies BRASÍLIA, the largest
and most fascinating of the world's
“planned cities”. Declared capital in 1960
and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in
1995, the futuristic city was the vision of
Juscelino Kubitschek , who realized his
election promise to build it if elected
president in 1956. Designed by Oscar
Niemeyer , South America's most able
student of Le Corbusier, it is located in its
own federal zone - Brasília D.F. (Distrito
Federal) - in the centre of Goiás state.
Intended for a population of half a
million by 2000, today the city is Brazil's
fastest-growing, with 2.6 million

Esplanada dos Ministérios
Brasília's raison d'être is the government
complex known as the Esplanada dos
Ministérios , focused on the iconic
28-storey twin towers of the Congresso
Nacional (the nose of the plane or the
bird's “beak”). The buildings here,
designed by Niemeyer, can all be seen in
a day for free (though you'll need to plan
carefully around their different opening
hours) and are regarded as among the
world's finest modernist examples. The