Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
make their floats for Carnaval. For much of the year, there's little activity in the
workshops, but at the very least you'll be able to inspect the previous year's floats.
As Carnaval nears, activity increases and you'll be able to snatch a preview of the
big event ahead. Every week, a spectacular show is held, featuring some of Rio's
best samba groups and singers and a parade that is a small version of the annual
Sambódromo extravaganza. The area around the Cidade being rather run-down, the
safest way to get here is by taxi: ask for the entrance at warehouse #11 (
barracão onze
)
on Rua Rivadávia Correia.
Cinelândia and around
The neighbourhood known as
Cinelândia
, at the southern end of Avenida Rio Branco,
takes its name from the 1930s movie houses that once stood here, most of them now
long gone. Old photos of Avenida Rio Branco (originally named Avenida Central)
show its entire length bordered by Neoclassical-style buildings of no more than three
storeys high, its pavements lined with trees, and with a promenade that ran right down
the centre. Nowadays, however, the once-graceful avenue has been marred by ugly
o
ce buildings and tra
c pollution.
Cinelândia centres on
Praça Floriano
, the one section of Avenida Rio Branco that still
impresses. Several pavement cafés on the western side of the square serve as popular
central meeting points in the evening, when the surrounding buildings are illuminated
and at their most elegant. In the centre of the
praça
is a bust of
Getúlio Vargas
, still
anonymously decorated with flowers on the anniversary of the ex-dictator's birthday,
March 19.
Theatro Municipal
Praça Floriano • Tours Tues-Fri 11am, noon, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm, Sat 11am, noon & 1pm • Tours R$10 •
T
21 2332 9220,
W
www.theatromunicipal.rj.gov.br •
M
Cinelândia
At the north end of Praça Floriano, the
Theatro Municipal
, opened in 1909 and a
dramatic example of Neoclassical architecture, was modelled on the Paris Opéra - all
granite, marble and bronze, with a foyer decorated in the white and gold characteristic
of Louis XV style. Since opening, the theatre has been Brazil's most prestigious artistic
venue, hosting visiting Brazilian and foreign orchestras, opera and theatre companies,
and singers. Tours can be booked at the box of
ce at the back of the building.
Museu Nacional das Belas Artes
Av Rio Branco 199, at Praça Floriano • Tues-Sun 9am-9pm • R$8; Sun free •
T
21 3299 0600,
W
mnba.gov.br
On the east side of Praça Floriano, the
Museu Nacional das Belas Artes
is a grandiose
Neoclassical pile built in 1908 as the Escola Nacional das Belas Artes, with the museum
created in 1937. The modest European collection includes works by Boudin, Tournay
and Franz Post among many others, but it's the
Brazilian
collection
that's of most
interest. Organized in chronological order, each room shows the various stages in the
development of Brazilian painting as well as the influences imported from Europe: the
years of diversification (1919-28); the movement into modernism (1921-49); and the
consolidation of modern forms between 1928 and 1967, especially in the works of
Cândido Portinari, Djanira and Francisco Rebolo.
Biblioteca Nacional
Av Rio Branco 219 and Praça Floriano • Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat 9am-3pm; guided tours in Portuguese hourly, and in English Mon-Fri
1pm • Free but photo ID required •
T
21 3095 3879,
W
www.bn.br
Even if you don't need to consult its tomes and manuscripts, it's worth popping into
the
Biblioteca Nacional
(National Library) to check out the stairway, decoratively
painted by some of the most important artists of the nineteenth century, including
Modesto Brocas, Eliseu Visconti, Rodolfo Amoedo and Henrique Bernadelli.
