Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museu Oceanográfico
Rua Heitor Perdigão 10 • Tues-Sun 9-11.30am & 2-6pm • R$5 •
T
53 3232 9107,
W
museu.furg.br
Rio Grande's
Museu Oceanográfico
, part of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande,
is perhaps the most important of its kind in Latin America, stuffed with fossils and all
manner of preserved sea creatures, including over 51,000 shells. The adjacent
Museu
Antártico
(same hours) celebrates Brazil's presence on Antarctica, with a replica of some
of the facilities at the Comandante Ferraz base.
9
Museu Histórico da Cidade do Rio Grande
Rua Riachuelo • Tues-Sun 9-11.30am & 2-5.30pm • Free •
T
53 3232 6111
he small
Museu Histórico da Cidade do Rio Grande
traces the city's history through
photographic archives and miscellaneous objects. The museum is housed in the old
customs house (
alfândega
), a Neoclassical building built in 1879 that's more interesting
than the collection.
The waterfront
Just a stone's throw from the cathedral, the
waterfront
is
always busy with ocean-
going ships, fishing vessels and smaller boats. From here boats cross the mouth of
the Lagoa dos Patos to the small village of
São José do Norte
, one of the oldest
settlements in the state, where there's a simple church,
Nossa Senhora dos
Navegantes
, built in 1795.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
RIO GRANDE AND AROUND
By plane
Rio Grande's tiny airport is 9km from the centre.
Brava Linhas Aéreas (
W
voebrava.com.br) operates twin-
prop flights to and from Porto Alegre (Mon-Fri 1-3 daily;
1hr) and to Pelotas (1 daily; 10min).
By bus
A few blocks from Praça Tamandaré is Rio Grande's
rodoviária (
T
53 3232 8444), at Vice Alimirante Abreu 737,
served by buses from most cities in Rio Grande do Sul and
from cities as far north as Rio de Janeiro.
Destinations
Chuí (2 daily; 3hr 40min); Pelotas (every
30min; 1hr); Porto Alegre (hourly; 5hr); Rio de Janeiro
(1 daily; 31-32hr); São Paulo (1 daily; 24-25hr).
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Bar e Restaurante Marcos
Av Silva Paes 400
T
53 3232 4447.
Best bet in the centre for exceptional
seafood such as crispy shrimp risotto and salmon crêpes
(mains R$45-65). Also has live music.
Mon-Sat
11.30am-2pm & 7-11.30pm, Sun 11.30am-2.30pm.
★
waterfront, this was once the place to stay in Rio Grande and,
after decades of neglect, much of its former “Grand Hotel” feel
and fabric has been restored, making it an important sight in
its own right. There's a wood-panelled breakfast room and an
extremely pretty courtyard with a central fountain, and while
most of the bedrooms are fairly b
asic, so
me have period
furnishings and offer amazing value.
R$110
Paris Hotel
Rua Marechal Floriano 112
T
53 3231
3866,
W
hotelvillamoura.com.br.
Built in 1826 on the
The Rota Missões (Mission Route)
Though less well known than those in Argentina and Paraguay, Rio Grande do Sul
is home to several abandoned
Jesuit Missions
(see box, p.628), the ruins of some of
which are in an excellent state of preservation and grouped together on what is called
the
ROTA MISSÕES
(
W
rotamissoes.com.br). The best place to base yourself for the
Brazilian ruins is the town of
Santo Ângelo
in the far southwest of Rio Grande do Sul;
also listed here (see box, p.628) are the best ruins in
Argentina
and
Paraguay
, a
relatively short drive away; San Ignacio Miní, Santísima Trinidad del Paraná and
Jesús de Tavarangué.
Brief history
The Jesuits arrived here in 1626 determined to convert the
Guaraní
, with the missions
founded between 1682 and 1706 in nominal Spanish territory. With a total population
of 150,000, these mini-cities became centres of some importance, with
erva maté
and
