Curitiba
Capital Of Paraná, Founded 1693, Internationally Known For Its Urban Planning And Bus Rapid Transit System · Curitiba, Paraná
Curitiba, the capital of Paraná, is known far beyond Brazil for its urban planning: from the 1970s it pioneered the bus rapid transit system copied by cities worldwide, with its tube-shaped glass stations, and built a ring of parks that make it one of the greenest large cities in Latin America. For visitors, its icons are the glass greenhouse of the Botanical Garden, framed by formal French-style gardens, the Ópera de Arame, a theatre made of steel tubes and glass set over a lake in a former quarry, and the Oscar Niemeyer Museum, whose eye-shaped gallery is lifted on a yellow column. The Linha Turismo, a hop-on hop-off bus, links them. On Sundays the Largo da Ordem in the old centre holds a large craft fair. The other reason to come is the Serra Verde Express, a train that descends from Curitiba through the Atlantic forest of the Serra do Mar to the colonial town of Morretes, famous for the slow-cooked beef dish barreado. Curitiba is cooler and greyer than the rest of Brazil, and orderly by comparison.
Jardim Botânico and Centro, Curitiba, PR, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Curitiba is a city and never closes, but its sights are spread out and keep separate hours. The big parks, including the Botanical Garden grounds and Tanguá, open from early morning to early evening; the greenhouse itself keeps shorter hours. The Oscar Niemeyer Museum opens from late morning to early evening and is closed on Mondays, the trap for anyone planning a Monday of culture. The Ópera de Arame can be visited by day but closes for rehearsals and events. The Linha Turismo bus runs daily at set intervals through the day, but not at night, and its last loop leaves mid-afternoon. The Serra Verde Express runs on a timetable of its own, mainly at weekends and in holiday seasons, with one departure in the morning; it sells out and is sometimes suspended - book ahead and confirm before building a trip around it.