Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Praça Olímpio Campos and around
The heart of Aracaju's
centro histórico
is the wide, lush space of
Praça Olímpio Campos
,
dominated by the lavish French Gothic-style
Catedral Metropolitana
(Mon-Sat
7am-7pm, Sun 7.30am-8pm; free;
T
79 3214 3418), built in 1862 and dedicated to
the Nossa Senhora da Conceição. Check out the unusual decorative interior - though
it looks fancy from a distance, close up you can see the ceiling and walls are simply
smothered in trompe-l'œil paintwork. The small
market
in front of the cathedral sells
examples of the state's “
renda Irlandesa
” (Irish lace), and local snacks. On the north side
of the plaza, the
Centro de Turismo
(see p.252) is located in the faded French-Empire-
style Escola Normal (1911). Behind it in the same building is the
Rua do Turista
(
W
ruadoturista.com.br), a pleasant courtyard lined with craft stores (Tues-Sat
8am-7pm, Sun 9am-6pm), and a modern arcade at the back with cheap cafés, Cinema
Vitória and a stage where shows are sometimes put on. A small
Museu do Artesanato
(same as store hours) displays a selection of arts and crafts from around the state.
Palacio Museu Olímpio Campos
Praça Fausto Cardoso • Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 9am-1pm • Free •
T
79 3198 1461
Built between 1859 and 1863, Aracaju's original Palacio do Goberno (Governor's
mansion) is now preserved as the
Palacio Museu Olímpio Campos
, a grand, Neoclassical
showcase of nineteenth-century art and architecture. Guides show you around various
ornate rooms (generally Portuguese only), from the old bedrooms to lavish dining and
reception rooms and the grand staircase decorated with vaguely Art Nouveau murals -
there's also a scale model of the city 1920-40. Outside in the plaza, overlooking the
Rio Sergipe, is a statue of local hero
Fausto Cardoso
, leader of a failed 1906 revolt.
4
Museu da Gente Sergipe
Av Ivo do Prado 398 • Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 10am-4pm • Free •
T
79 3218 1551,
W
www.museudagentesergipana.com.br
Opened in 2011, the
Museu da Gente Sergipe
is the pride and joy of Aracaju, a hip
interactive museum that introduces the people and culture of the state. Visits begin
with a ten-minute film highlighting the major sights and festivals of Sergipe, while
temporary art exhibits and a decent café (see p.253) take up the ground floor. Upstairs
the permanent exhibits tackle everything from flora and fauna to famous people of
Sergipe with innovative displays (including a video tunnel and holographic characters)
and games testing everything from ingredients in local dishes to your ability to sing
local
repente
songs. The building itself is a grand Neoclassical pile completed in 1926
as the Colegio Atheneu Pedro II (high school). Though everything is in Portuguese,
English-speaking students are often on hand to act as guides (free).
Teleférico Aracaju
Rua Fortaleza • Tues 9.30am-4pm, Wed-Fri 9.30am-5pm, Sat & Sun 8.30am-5.30pm • R$8 •
T
79 3205 1305,
W
telefericoaracaju.com.br
Aracaju's cable car, the
Teleférico Aracaju
, soars over the green expanse of the Parque da
Cidade on the northern edge of the city, a patch of Mata Atlântica that includes the
local zoo. The ride ends on top of the Morro do Urubu with an image of Nossa
Senhora da Conceição and stellar views across the city.
Atalaia and the beaches
Aracaju's city beaches are not great, especially considering what lies ahead, but they do
boast some excellent restaurants known for their crab dishes (see p.253), and a couple
of attractions. The two main
beaches
are Atalaia Velha and Atalaia Nova. Four-
kilometre-long
Atalaia Velha
lies about 5km south from the city centre and is the more
developed of the two. It's easy to get there by bus, but the whole area is rather soulless
and uninspiring. The major landmark is the chequered
Farol de Atalaia
(lighthouse).
Atalaia Nova
lies on Santa Luzia across the Rio Sergipe, accessible via the 1.8km-long
Ponte João Alves or by boat (“
tototo
”) from the
hidroviária
in the city centre (every
