Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It is now possible to visit the
interior
, on Wednesdays only, but turn up at least an
hour early to get a ticket as numbers are limited and demand is high. Inside, it all looks
a bit too modern for a presidential residence: the most striking feature is the gold-tiled
wall in the entrance hall, inscribed with one of Juscelino Kubitschek's platitudes about
the city. The tour is guided, but in Portuguese only.
Museu de Valores
SBS Q.3, Bloco B, Lote 1 • Tues-Fri 10am-6pm (last entry 5.30pm) • Free, but photo ID required •
T
61 3414 2093,
W
www.bcb.gov.br/?museu
The most interesting place to visit within easy walking distance of the rodoviária
can be found in the unlikely setting of the
Central Bank
building
, the unmistakeable
concrete-and-black-glass skyscraper in Setor Bancário Sul, visible from anywhere in
the centre. Tucked away by the building's rear entrance is the
Museu de Valores
or
Museu da Moeda
(Money Museum), where you'll find a quirky but fascinating
display of Brazilian currency from colonial times. It's very interesting as social
history, but overshadowed by the second part of the display, an extraordinary
exhibition behind armoured glass of the largest gold nuggets ever found in Brazil -
most dating from the 1980s, when the Central Bank was buying nuggets from
the Amazon gold rush.
6
Torre de Televisão
Eixo Monumental Oeste • Daily 8am-8pm • Free •
T
61 3412 2712
The 218m-high
Torre de Televisão
(TV Tower), built in 1967, is an obvious city
landmark, and its viewing platform is a great place from which to put Brasília into
perspective. Indeed, there's no better place in town for watching the sun set - though
frustratingly there is no bar to watch it from. At weekends the tower is also popular for
the
craft market
held just to its west (see box, p.418).
Parque da Cidade
Asa Sul (most central entrance on Eixo Monumental Oeste) • Daily 5am-11pm • Free •
T
61 3226 7038
A short walk from Setor Hoteleiro Sul, the enormous
Parque da Cidade
(City Park) -
also called
Parque Sara Kubitschek
after JK's wife - is a massive mosaic of playgrounds,
jogging tracks, bars and restaurants, picnic grounds, artificial lakes, parklands and
woods. If you want to walk or jog in Brasília, this is the place to do it. The southern
entrance, a block away from the hotel sector, is where many of the attractions are
concentrated, including an enjoyably tacky
funfair
. The best time to visit is Sunday
morning, when the locals turn out en masse to jog, work out, sunbathe or read the
paper, while dozens of kiosks and street-sellers tout everything from chilled green
coconuts to shiatsu massage.
Memorial JK
Eixo Monumental Oeste • Daily 9am-6pm • Free •
T
61 3226 7860,
W
memorialjk.com.br • Best reached by one of the many buses
heading up the Eixo
he
Memorial JK (Juscelino Kubitschek)
is topped by a rather Soviet-looking statue
of Brasília's founder standing inside an enormous question mark and pointing down
the Eixo towards the heart of government. The museum below reverently reproduces
JK's library and study, while the man himself lies upstairs in state in a black marble
sarcophagus, backlit by an extraordinary combination of purple, violet and orange
lights - the only thing missing is a sound system piping in “The Age of Aquarius”.
All around is a fascinating display of personal mementoes of JK's career and the
