A block away from the Reading Room is the small São Francisco Square. The colonial Church of São Francisco de Paula is pretty from the outside, but overwhelmingly golden on the inside.

Cinelândia Square

Buildings representing Rio’s history as the capital of Brazil surround the small Cinelândia Square. It is formally called, Praça Floriano Peixoto, but most locals don’t know it by that name. The small square is home to a library, theatre and palace among others.

Biblioteca Nacional (National Library)

An earthquake in Portugal in 1755 resulted in extensive damage to their National Library and a new home was needed to house it contents. As a result, a National Library was built in Rio. As the library’s catalogue grew over the centuries, a new building was needed. The city council wanted one that matched the status of a capital city.  Built in 1905, the National Library has a grand entrance that makes you want to see inside.

Most of the library is off limits to tourists but we were allowed to explore sections of the first 2 floors. From the main entrance an elegant staircase leads to an open walkway on the first floor. We were only allowed to poke our heads into some of the wings, but each one we saw was beautifully decorated with rod-iron railings, columns and large stained glass sunroofs.

Teatro Municipal (Rio Municipal Theatre)

Kitty corner to the library is the Municipal Theatre. Built in the early 1900s, the theatre was built to emulate the Paris Opera House. It does command your attention with tall white pillars surrounding the exterior and topped by two turquoise domed roofs. It’s a lovely building, but we still prefer the pink theatre in Manaus. It’s open for tours Tuesday to Saturdays.

Another notable building on Cinelândia Square is Palácio Pedro Ernesto which was used to house Brazil’s parliament, but is now used by Rio city council.

Catedral Metropolitana do Rio (Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio)

Not far from the historic centre is an excellent example of modern architecture. Architect Edgar Fonseca was apparently inspired by Mayans which is quite clear when you see the conical shaped Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio. Inside the sanctuary, the tall cement walls contain hundreds of small windows. The only colour provided is from the thin stained glass windows that run from floor to ceiling. Maybe it’s from a lack of architectural sophistication, but the 1960s building was not Maggie’s cup of tea. Richard though seemed to enjoy the aesthetics of the futuristic building.

Aqueduto da Carioca,  Carioca Aqueduct

Built in the mid 18^th century to bring fresh water from the nearby Carioca River on Santa Theresa Hill, the aqueduct is located just below the cathedral. Cariocas is also the nickname for people from Rio. The top of the aqueduct now has tracks for local trams and the surrounding park seemed to be inhabited by street people. Free lunch was being handed out when we were there, so no one paid attention to us.

Escadaria Selarón  (Selarón Steps)

Santa Theresa Hill can be seen from the aqueduct. Today, there aren’t a lot of historical buildings left in this district, but it is home to a favourite Instagram spot. Decorated in the colours of Brazil’s flag, blue, green and yellow, the tiled staircase is the work of artist Jorge Selarón. Unfortunately these cute stairs have become a spectacle filled with tourists lined up to take selfies.

Jardim Botânico (Botanical Gardens)

Not far from Ipanema Beach, the Botanical Gardens were established by the royal family in 1808. Originally the space was used to cultivate plants like nutmeg, pepper and cinnamon that the royals brought from the West Indies. A few years later though it was opened to the public.

Located inside Tijuca Forest and under Corcovado Mountain, the 144 hectare gardens are filled with 6,000 different species of tropical and subtropical trees and plants. This number includes 900 varieties of palms. Who knew there were so many different types of palm trees! One of the most picturesque spots is a sidewalk fringed by 134 palm trees up to 40m tall and leads to Fountain of Muses. To put it in perspective here’s a picture of Maggie standing under one of the trees on Avenue of Royal Palms.

Walking through the gardens it was amazing to see the wide variety of trees and plants. Many were familiar but a lot were plants we’d never seen or head of before.

As if to tease us, we had a clear, although cloudy, view of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado from the Botanical Gardens.

To read about our other adventures in Brazil click here.

Coming Next – Beautiful Beaches in Buzios

For pictures from other blogs go to Gallery at monkeystale.ca

To read about more of our adventures go to Destinations.

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