Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Praça Coronel Macedo
is where you'll find the town's principal church,
Nossa Senhora
do Pilar
; imposing rather than interesting, it dates back to 1714 and is built in typical
Portuguese colonial style. Its interior has sadly been completely remodelled and
preserves no original features.
The annual town
festa
(climaxing on August 15) honours Nossa Senhora do Pilar
and attracts crowds from all over the state, while its annual
carnaval
is also a major
street party.
9
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
ANTONINA
By bus
The rodoviária
is located right in the town centre:
turn right onto Rua XV de Novembro, the main commercial
thoroughfare, and walk two blocks past some rather elegant
nineteenth-century merchants' houses, then one block
along Rua Vale Porto to reach Antonina's main square.
Destinations
Curitiba (7 daily; 2hr); Guaraqueçaba
(2 daily; 3hr 30min); Morretes (7 daily; 30min); Paranaguá
(hourly; 45min).
Tourist information
At the old train station, Praça
Carlos Cavalcanti (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 10am-6pm;
T
41 3978 1080), a couple of minutes' walk from the
town centre.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
★
Caçarola do Joca
Praça Dr. Romildo Gonçalves
Pereira 42
T
41 3432 1286.
This long-standing favourite
(it opened in 1981), with views across the bay and rustic
interior, does
an especially good
barreado
that costs R$60
for two (as well as fine seafood such as local crab and giant
prawns - try the Casquinha de Siri)
. Sat 11.30am-5pm &
7.30-11pm, Sun & holidays 11.30am-5pm.
Hotel Camboa
Rua Valle Porto 208
T
41 3432 3267,
W
hotelcamboa.com.br.
The most distinctive hotel in
town, built amid the ruins of an eighteenth-century Jesuit
mission right on the main square, with cosy rooms (cable
TV, breakfast and wi-fi include
d) and
the added attraction
of a pool and views of the bay.
R$180
Pousada Atlante
Praça Coronel Macedo 266
T
41
3432 1256,
W
atlante.com.br/pousada-atlante.
Grand
carrot-coloured property dating back to the 1910s, with
very comfo
rtable r
ooms, some overlooking the
praça
, and a
small pool.
R$140
Paranaguá
Brazil's second most important port for exports,
PARANAGUÁ
, 92km east of Curitiba,
has lost some of its former character, though the colonial-style pastel-coloured
buildings along the waterfront retain a certain charm. Founded in the 1550s on the
banks of the Rio Itiberê, it is one of Brazil's oldest cities, but only recently have
measures been undertaken to preserve its colonial heritage. Today it's the main
departure point for ferries to Ilha do Mel (see p.561).
Rua XV de Novembro and around
The appeal of Paranaguá lies in wandering around the cobbled streets and absorbing
the faded colonial atmosphere of the town. Almost everything worth seeing is
concentrated along
Rua XV de Novembro
a block inland from the waterfront
(three blocks from the train station).
Igreja da Ordem Terceira São Francisco das Chagras
Corner of Avenida Arthur de Abreu • Mon-Sat 9-11am & 2-6pm, Sun 2-6pm • Free
At the corner of Avenida Arthur de Abreu is the very pretty
Igreja da Ordem Terceira
São Francisco das Chagras
, a small and simple church completed in 1784 and still
containing its Baroque altars.
Mercado Municipal do Café
Rua General Carneiro 458 • Daily 6am-6pm • Free
Paranaguá's
Mercado Municipal do Café
is an early twentieth-century building that
used to serve as the city's coffee market. Today the Art Nouveau structure contains
handicraft stalls and simple restaurants serving excellent, very cheap seafood and the
famed “
pastel de banana
”.
