Curitiba Travel Forum

Oi,
I will be passing through Curitiba on my Brasil trip at the end of the year. I am very interested in historic architecture. What does Curitiba have to offer? Like palacios or baroque churches? I have heard of an italian neighborhood, which has interesting architecture and many restaurants.

Unfortunately, when I see pictures of Brazilian cities, it usually only shows the skylines full of skyscrapers and tall buildings, and you know they basically all look the same...

Which other city in the south of Brazil do you strongly recommend visiting?
Obrigado!

Hello,

I'm not sure about its Architectural History, however, Curitiba is one of the world leaders for having an amazing Urban Transportation System.

You know how some cities, especially in North America, have pursued Light Rail Transit or heavy rail such as Subways, etc.

Well... Curitiba is considered to be the best example of a city that has amazing "Express Bus" Lanes and Routes. In fact, their system is so successful that most of their residents commute by bus as opposed to driving. It should be noted that Curitiba has one of the higher (cars per capita) in Brazil, YET, their residents still take the bus.

I've heard that their land use planning is state of the art too. Apparently their mayor for the past 20 years is a formally trained Urban Planner.

So there... watch for that.. and sorry about the lack of architectural info.

Eurocory

Well, the historic Curitiba is known as Praca da Ordem and its surroundings, where it was founded. There is a italian quarter named Santa Cecilia and a polish park. The Bothanical Garden and Opera de Arame are interesting buildings too. If you are interested in historic buildings I recommend you to see the Missions Ruins, world heritage in Rio Grande do Sul State.

I recommend you to go to Joinville, Blumenal, and São Joaquim in Santa Catarina State, and Gramado, Canela, Garibaldi, and Bento Gonçalves in Rio Grande do Sul State. Also the capitol cities of both states are worth of visiting.

Cheers,
Henry.

Hi..!
You are right - there are not many historical buildings in Curitiba besides
the Largo da Ordem area - that is the area where the village started to grow
in the XVII century.
Curitiba is known for its many imigrants - Germans, Polish, Italians etc. and also for its Green areas and many parks. The transpostation system is famous too..
There are parks in homage of the many foreigners that help build the city..the German Park - the Ukranian Park - the Polish Park - etc.
Check the address bellow for some pictures of my city - CURITIBA!
http://www.artes-curitiba.com/fotos.htm

If you need any other tips...tell me!
Cheers
Luciana

PS: The Italian neighbourhood is called SANTA FELICIDADE - the place where I actually live..:)

This address has many more pictures...try this one..
http://www.viaje.curitiba.pr.gov.br/fotos/

Cheers!

Thanks a lot for the great link!
This neighborhood sounds very interesting. Curitiba does seem to have some very interesting buildings.
I wonder why Brazilians keep building so many of those extremely tall "modern" buildings right next to their historic heritage, which needs to be savoured.