Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
THE SUNDOWNER RIVER CRUISE
It's worth going on the
sundowner river cruise
, which leaves from the Estação das Docas at
5.30pm (Tues-Sun; 1hr 30min; R$45); tickets can be bought from the Valeverde Turismo o
ce
(see p.341). It may look like a cheesy tourist thing to be doing - a suspicion not exactly laid to
rest by the colossally vulgar boat sporting a large, fibreglass figurehead - but it's wonderful.
The city is best seen close up from the river, the guides are friendly, the tourists are mainly
Brazilian and, best surprise of all, the live “regional music and dancing” is in fact genuinely
regional and excellent. The boat returns to its starting point 1.5 hours later, invariably with
most of its passengers dancing. Drinks and light refreshments are served at reasonable prices,
with
tacacá
soup (see box, p.343) the highlight.
Estação das Docas is great at any time of day but comes into its own at night.
You can stroll down and take your pick of a row of restaurants, the music is good,
the atmosphere is lively and the river tra
c is a constantly fascinating backdrop.
Cidade Velha
Across from Ver-o-Peso in the opposite direction to Estação das Docas is the colonial
heart of Belém,
Cidade Velha
. The small Neoclassical building on the water's edge is the
old
necrotério
, where dead bodies from villages in the interior without a priest would be
landed so they could be given proper burial in the city.
Forte do Presépio
Praça Dom Frei Caetano Brandão • Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat & Sun 10am-2pm • R$2 •
T
91 4009 8828
The bulk of the old Portuguese fort, the
Forte do Presépio
, is mostly mid-eighteenth
century, though its earliest parts date from the 1620s. There is a small, very interesting
(and air-conditioned)
Museu do Encontro
inside displaying archeological fragments
from the pre-colonial period, along with beautiful indigenous ceramics and urns. The
most enjoyable thing to do, however, is walk the battlements, with views down to the
harbour and across the river.
Praça da Sé
The cathedral square outside the city fort, the
Praça da Sé
, looks very much as
it did in the late eighteenth century; it is a wonderful place to sit at night and
admire the views before moving on to the many options for eating and drinking
in the neighbourhood.
Catedral da Sé
Praça da Sé • Mon 2-9pm, Tues-Fri 7am-8pm, Sat 7-10am & 4-10pm, Sun 6am-noon & 4-8.30pm • Free •
T
91 3223 2362
The mid-eighteenth-century cathedral known universally as the
Catedral da Sé
is
the starting point of the Círio procession (see box, p.339). Its interior is largely
Neoclassical, while its Baroque exterior is classically Portuguese (although in fact built
by an Italian, Antônio Landí). The nave is lit up by eighteen iron chandeliers and
decorated with beautiful nineteenth-century frescoes. With a height of 8m, the
cathedral's organ is the largest in Latin America.
Museu de Arte Sacra
Praça Dom Frei Caetano Brandão • Tues-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat & Sun 10am-2pm • R$4 •
T
91 4009 8802
he
Museu de Arte Sacra
is worth visiting for the wonderful
Igreja de Santo Alexandre
,
Belém's first church, founded by Jesuits in the seventeenth century and executed with
local labour. Over the centuries the church fell into disrepair - the original ceiling has
been entirely replaced - with parts of the red cedar interior eaten away by termites.
Today, the church has been wonderfully restored and is still hired out for weddings.
