The beautiful Honey island
by lbiscaia
If you come to Curitiba, you should visit the Honey Island. (Ilha do Mel).
You will have to travel 2 hours by bus and 30 minutes to cross the Paranagua Bay Channel.
No cars are allowed there.
The island have 5 or 6 beautiful beaches, nice sea food and some good places to stay.
My suggestion is the "Pousada das Meninas".
It is a very cozy place, the owner is a very nice girl (Suzy) and she prepares very good meals.
You can see more information on:
www.pousadadasmeninas.com.br
Don't miss it!
Barigui Park (Parque Barigui)
by ahoerner
This is one of the oldest parks in town. It is located in the western part of town.
Great place to walk, talk, relax or take a sunbath during the day. On weekends it gets more crowded than usual...
Beware of bicycles riding fast on the pedestrian sidewalk....
Curitiba - Brazil´s model of progression.
by skullcrusher
Curitiba is a Brazilian city that has been lauded for it's city planning and progressive foresight for future developement. Compared to most South American cities, it's a relatively clean, organized city with good parks, intriguing monuments, and an effecient bus transit system.
Many Brazilians that live in this part of the country are of Italian, Germany, Ukranian, and some are even of Japanese decent. This might be why as I roam the city it seems to have a somewhat ``European´´ feel to it. But at the same time you know that you´re definitely in Brazil with the same general warmness and hospitality that I´ve come to love.
Curitiba is also a very artsy town with more than a few good museums and the planners of the city did a great job of preserving the old colonial buildings and the famous Portuguese stonework. The town can´t boast of a beach, however, good beaches aren´t too far away on the island of Ilha do Mel and further south in Florianopolis. Plus, if you like to roam in the forest then you can take the train to the Parque Estadual Marumbi were there are some good hikes.
There´s an excellent bus tour called the ``Linha Turismo´´ that will take you to many of the city´s top sights. I especially liked the Jardim Botãnico, the Bosque Aleaõ and Parque Tanguá. I only wish you were allowed more stops per trip. An interesting museum you might like to visit is the Museu Oscar Niemeyer which has some unique architectural designs and the building itself is a sight to behold. The Museu de Art Contemparia has a small amount of thought-provoking modern art.
For a good workout at reasonable prices a great gym is:
Lizon Academia Sports
Rua Nilo Cairo (Centro - Curitiba)
* Right in the historic center there´s another gym called Planet Gym on Praça Tiradentes. Yes, there are many, many other options. There are some work-out stations at the Passeio Publico in Centro and if you want to good for a jog/run then any one of the many open green areas & parks will do.
For shopping and having a little snack, the Estacion Plaza is a popular place to hang-out and is a place where local artists sell their work. On Sundays at the Largo de Ordem, in the historic part of town, they have a large fair were you purchase all sorts of items. The pedestrian street of Rua das Flores is also popular of people walking around, buying stuff, and grabbing a snack/drink. Also the Largo de Ordem is a good place for nightlife with quite a few bars, clubs, pubs - more debauched forms of entertainment (eg, stripclubs) are situated closeby.
Nearby, the Rua 24 Horas (24 Hour Street) has some places to eat, good bookstores, and a very helpful tourist information office (usually there´s at least one person there who speaks English). As the name implies, Rua 24 Horas is open to the public 24 hours a day - but keep in mind that not all the businesses there are open continously. A nice area of town to have a nice meal is in the traditionally Italian barrio of Santa Felicidade. Obviously a good place to sample some Italian food.
Curitiba is known as the one of the coolest, temperature wise, cities in Brazil - but that´s not saying very much. It´s still pretty darn warm to me. Curitiba is a very pleasant city to spend a few days in and it´s cleaner and more organized than most Brazilian towns. The people who designed this city made a point to create an environment with various cultural and artistic impressions. I look forward to visiting this nice town again in the future.
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Praca Tiradentes
the entrance to the Opera de Arame
Tower External View
Barreado w/ caipirinha
