The Brazil Travel Site

Historic Rio: Galleries & Cultural Centers

Across Av. Rio Branco (toward the ocean) is an area full of galleries and cultural spaces. First, there’s the Casa França (Rua Visconde de Itaboraí 78, noon–6pm Tuesday–Sunday), which has temporary and permanent scultpure exhibitions in an 1820 neoclassic building. The building was designed as a fine arts school, but was used instead as a business center. Later, it served for a time as a customs house. Inside is a bookstore, coffee shop, and a lovely central atrium.

Nearby is the Espaço Cultural Banco do Brasil (Rua Primeiro de Março 66, noon–10pm Tuesday–Sunday) in a 1906 structure that was originally the headquarters of the Bank of Brazil, but was reformed and turned into a cultural center. The building is fabulous; it has a theater, cinema, exhibition rooms, tea room and souvenir shop. It usually has some excellent national and international exhibits running. Inside is a restaurant/bar that is a popular spot for happy hour. Next door is the Centro Cultural dos Correios (Rua Visconde de Itaboraí 20, noon–7pm Tuesday–Sunday), an exhibition space that focuses on Brazilian sculptors and paintors with rotating exhibits. They have ten exhibit halls and a concert hall for up to 200 people, where they often produce Brazilian musical performances. On the bottom floor, there is a nice coffee shop and a functioning office of the correios (postal service). Finally, there’s the Galeria Paulo Fenandes (Rua do Rosário 38, noon–6pm Tuesday–Sunday) with contemporary works of art from local and national artists.

At this point, you might seek out the Laranjada Americana (Rua Buenos Aires 2c) for a fabulous orange juice. The shop, open since 1925 is in a great old building.

Porto Seguro: Shopping

Shopping takes place all over town and especially in the shops the line Av. 22 de Abril and the Passarela do Alcool, all the way to the tip of the city where the ferry boat docks. The Passarela do Alcool is especially active after dark, when locals set up stands to sell clothing, arts and crafts on the street. There is an arts and crafts market Inside the tourist information office at the far end of the Passarela do Alcool (and past the Praça da Bandeira).

You’ll find the atelier of Bahian artist Menelaw Sete directly across the street from the Praça da Bandeira. Sete is recognized nationally for his cubist works–in the tradition of Picasso. There is an interesting art gallery featuring many Bahian artists, called Galeria da Preta (Av. Portugal 148). They are open daily until around midnight and are located at the beginning of the Passarela. The best deals on tee shirts can be found in the Cidade Historica (although there are some very cool tee-shirt designs in the shops around the Praça da Bandeira) and the best shopping mall in town is Shopping Avenida (Av. 22 de Abril), which has coffee shops, boutique stores, ice cream shops and a good Italian restaurant upstairs. You can find Cuban and other international cigars and smokes at the Officina Café e Tabacaria inside the Shopping Avenida mall.