A good nightlife and beautiful parks
by Hissataka
The parks and the city organization are the best things about Curitiba. And there is "Teatro Ópera de Arame", an amazing architectural idea! The slight cold and the way the city resembles São Paulo (my hometown), just without so many people and the dirt.
German Woods (Bosque Alemão)
by ahoerner
Another gorgeous park built in the city in honor of the german immigrants who begin to settle in Curitiba in the early 1800's.
In the park visitors can walk on the trail of Hänsel und Gretel (after the tale of Brothers Grimm) and reach the gingerbread and candy house, where usually on saturday afternoons children listen to tales told by the crone that lives in the famous Brothers Grimm tale...
Interesting for kids for sure, but also for grownups looking for some silence, woods smells and some green.
"The eye" at Museu Oscar Niemeyer
by VdV
Here is a photo of "the eye" portion of the Museu Oscar Niemeyer. The architect's works and archives are housed in this "study center." This portion was closed during my visit in January 2004; call ahead or ask onsite to check availability to public.
Hours of operation for the museum in general:
Tuesday - Sunday, 1:30pm - 6:30pm
Admission:
* General, BRL $4
* Students, BRL $2
* Seniors (60 and older) and children (10 and under), free
The Linha Turismo bus stops at the Museu, and comes around every 30 minutes.
Curitiba, Parana - Brazil
by lichinga
The "Capital Ecologica", i.e. the ecological capital: this is the way people from Curitiba define their home city, due to the high sense of neatness and environment conscience that reigns all over the city. It's been the distinctive sign of Curitiba in the recent years, together with good administration and a high sense of self-identification in the city itself.
Curitiba, capital town of the Parana state in the Southern region of Brazil (450 km southbound from Sao Paulo, 900 km from Rio de Janeiro) has been growing at an astonishing rate of 6.5 % in the latest 25 years, it has now nearly 2,000,000 inhabitants and its landscape seems very modern and attractive.
As in any Brazilian city, the social conflicts are strong and the distance between rich and poor people is so wide there's almost no hope to see it reducing in the near future. Curitiba makes these differences to seem less evident than anywhere else: somebody say it is due to the cold climate and the continuous rain, which makes life impossible to simple survivors!