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Brasilia is the capital of Brazil. A planned city built in
1960, there's not much history or culture of note Brasilia
-- fifty years ago it was literally just a forest. Rather,
the city is an architectural spectacle, and that's really
the only reason to visit.
Table of contents [showhide]
1 Understand
2 Get in
2.1 By plane
2.2 By bus
3 Get around
3.1 By bus
3.2 By subway
4 See
5 Do
6 Buy
7 Eat
8 Drink
9 Sleep
10 Get out
11 External links
Understand
Brasilia was completed in just four years, from 1956 to 1960,
under the leadership of President Juscelino Kubitschek, with
the slogan "fifty years of progress in five", and
the city is in a sense a memorial to him.
The city plan is designed in the shape of a giant bird or
airplane, with various zones designated for each function.
The "body" is called the Eixo Monumental ("Monumental
Axis") and at one end lie the government buildings. The
arced "wings" are all residential, with rows and
rows of medium-rise apartment blocks with small commercial
districts. The intersection is the commercial and cultural
hub, with stores, hotels, and the cathedral.
Brasilia has been criticized since its creation as a failed
utopia where rationalized modernist planning have buried the
human element. Yet Brazilians are quite proud of their capital,
as a vision of a future when Brazil is no longer considered
merely a "developing" country.
Get in
By plane
Brasilia is a national air travel hub, and there should be
plenty of flights. In fact you may find your plane touching
down at Brasilia airport even if you're not starting or ending
anywhere near, such as Salvador to Belem.
Taxi is the best way to get from the airport into the city.
By bus
Brasilia is in a quite isolated location, some 16 hours by
bus from São Paulo and even more from Rio. Flying is
a much better way to get in. The rodoviário is located
a bit beyond the north end of the axis.
Get around
Ride the buses, take a cab, hitchhike, but whatever you do,
don't plan on getting around Brasilia by foot. The city was
designed under the assumption that every resident would own
an automobile. Obviously things didn't turn out that way,
and the city's public transport is a solution to an almost
deliberately designed problem. Fortunately it works fairly
well. In addition, the roads have few crosswalks or traffic
lights, so being a pedestrian requires caution.
By bus
Most local buses go through the rodoviária at the precise
center of the city and run along the "wings" serving
the residential zones.
By subway
The subway system (METRÔ-DF), inaugurated in 2001, runs
along the southern wing and serves the satellite cities.
See
Nearly all of Brasilia's architectural sites are on the eastern
part of the Monumental Axis.
The Square of the Three Powers (Praça dos Três
Poderes) at the extreme end of the axis includes the Congress,
the Palace of Justice, and Itamaraty Palace which houses the
Foreign Ministry. The axis itself is aligned such that on
April 21 (Tiradentes Day, marking the founding of the republic),
the sun rises precisely between the two towers of Congress.
The bronze statue of two abstracted figures is named Os Candangos
and represents the pioneering spirit of the workers who built
the city. There's also a "blind justice" statue
by the Palace of Justice.
Brasilia Cathedral is midway along the axis.
National Theater
The Television Tower is the best place for a sweeping panorama
of the city.
The Juscelino Kubitschek Memorial on the western part of the
axis is a museum dedicated to the life and accomplishments
of the president, and houses his remains as well. It's located
underground and has a slightly spooky 1960's science-fiction
feel to it.
Do
Buy
The Conjuntos de Diversões is a fairly nice shopping
center at the center of the city. The northern side is a bit
upscale, while the southern side has more interesting small
shops with books, music, and clothing that appeal to the local
skateboard-riding youths.
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