A tour around my city, Brasília

outubro 25, 2005

A tour around my city, Brasília

Brasília, the capital of Brazil, was built 45 years ago by Juscelino Kubitschek, the Brazilian President at that time. It has the shape of an airplane, and was planned by Oscar Niemeyer. Because of that, it is divided into Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern parts. It is the most modern city of 20^th century, and was registered as Mankind Heritage by UNESCO in 1987.

Basic Information

DDD: 61

Inhabitants: 2.051.146

Fuse Time: - 3 GMT

Local Holidays:

Apr/21 - Anniversary of Brasília

Nov/30 - Dia do Evangélico

Brasília is a singular city. It was built in the middle of nothing and inaugurated in less than four years. Only these facts would be enough to make evident that the capital of Brazil has a history, a least, different from all the other tourism spots of Brazil.

As if it wasn’t enough, Brasília also has the most different monuments. No antiquities or constructions from other centuries, but quite the contrary. The sinuous shapes and the dynamic and daring lines of most buildings give a special characteristic to the city. It’s amazing how the concrete was molded, inspiring a futuristic sensation on those who stares the architectonical set.

The shape of the city is also irreverent, with a shape of a plane and with no crossings, allows tourists to go through it easily. However, it’s practically impossible to know it by foot, due to the distance between the tour spots. It’s indicated to rent a car, since buses takes long routes.

Registered as Mankind Heritage by UNESCO, it has two main access ways. Eixo Monumental is where Congresso Nacional, Palácio do Planalto and Supremo Tribunal Federal buildings are located, among others. Eixo Rodoviário takes visitors to the residential sector of the city.

Approximately 90 embassies are placed in Brasília, which also has a people originated from the mix of people from the most varied places. Such mix is also reflected in the city gastronomy, which has influence of typical food of brazilian savanna and also from the european cuisine in a profusion of flavors.

But it does not have only concrete. Besides Paranoá Lake, one of the biggest artificial lakes ever constructed, the metropolis and its surroundings has green areas, like Parque Nacional and Parque da Cidade. Those who want to know Chapada dos Veadeiros disembark at the international airport to, then, take a bus to the neighbor cities of the park, inhabited by mystics from all around the world.

Besides being constructed to be grandiose, with imposing monuments, it’s a calm city, where calmness reigns, with streets usually empty, especially in the weekends. But don’t think that there’s no nightlife in the city. Even with fame of peaceful, Brasília has bars and nightclubs very frequented by tourists and local residents. More than a simple destination for business trips, more and more it gets consolidated as cultural and entertainment nucleus of Brazil. Obviously, it will always be ideal for the realization of great events, with Convention and Exhibition Centers and auditoriums.

Brasilia home page:
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/3416/bsb_port.htm

More information about Brasilia at:
http://www.brazilonboard.com/BSB/BSB_en.asp

Brasilia: the view of its airplane shape

Vista aérea de Brasília, 45 anos...

Se vista do alto, a cidade tem a forma de um avião e foi organizada por setores:

repartições públicas, comércio, indústria e áreas residenciais.

As distâncias são grandes e por isso o melhor meio de transporte é mesmo o carro.
A área escura à direita é o Lago Paranoá.

There is an artificial Lake in Brasília, called "Lago Paranoá", with 4 bridges connecting Brasília to the other parts of the state. This is the newest one, named JK bridge in honour of the President who built the city. This is the most beautiful bridge in the world.

Ponte Juscelino Kubitschek

A novíssima Ponte Juscelino Kubitschek, também conhecida como "3ª Ponte". Foi inaugurada em dezembro de 2002.

There is a Palace in Brazil, called "Congresso Nacional", which is the headquarter of our Parlament. You can see its three parts: the Senate, the two 28 storey buildings that take form of letter H ( which means man in Portuguese, Honor and Honesty ) and the Chamber of Deputies.

Amanhecer no Congresso

Os edifícios do Senado Federal e da Câmara dos Deputados foram posicionados para que no dia 21 de abril, o Sol nascesse entre eles, moldando as torres gêmeas como imagens de um Stonehenge futurístico.

The Metropolitan Cathedral has the shape of a crown, and it was inpired by the crown of the Statue of Liberty ( USA ).

Catedral Metropolitana 'Nossa Senhora Aparecida' e a Esplanada dos Ministérios

Brasília é também considerada uma cidade mística e atrai milhares de visitantes e de seitas religiosas para as comunidades - como a Cidade da Paz, e o Vale do Amanhecer - construídas em seus arredores.

In the Square of the Three Powers you will find the Legislative Authority, the Executive and the Judiciary in absolute equilibrium, independence and visual harmony. There are typical trees of our tropical clima, like the yellow tecoma below.

O belo Ipê amarelo do Cerrado na Esplana dos Ministérios

A melhor época para visitar Brasília vai da segunda metade de abril à primeira metade de junho. Neste período a estiagem ainda não começou e as temperaturas são mais amenas.

The National Theatre has the shape of a truncated pyramid similar to the one at Queops in Egypt. Its façade is a composition in cubes and rectangles created by Athos Bulcão. You can also see the upper plataform of Brasília Bus Terminal.

Teatro Nacional 'Cláudio Santoro'. Em primeiro plano, a Plataforma Rodoviária

Com pirâmides que lembram a antiguidade egípcia, como o Teatro Nacional e o Templo da Boa Vontade, Brasília é cercada por misticismo desde a sua criação.

You can see the large avenue of Brasília situated at its central part, in the "body of the airplane", which is called "Eixo Monumental" because of the Monuments we can see around it, like the TV Tower, 224 meters high, 25 meters up there is the Gemstone Museum and on the Lookout deck at 75 meters there is one of the best views of Brasília.

As avenidas em destaque são o Eixo Monumental e a W-3

You can see the headquarters of Brazilian Banks and of Brasília Hotels. This picture was taken on the TV Tower Lookout deck.

Setores Comercial Sul, Bancário Sul e Hoteleiro Sul vistos da Torre de TV

Planejada para uma população de no máximo 500.000 mil pessoas..não haveria engarrafamento e nem semáforo. Entretanto…mais rápido que qualquer um pudesse imaginar.. há mais de três milhões de habitantes dentro e ao redor de Brasília, e sim.....muitos semáforos e engarrafamentos.

This is another view of the headquarters of Brazilian Banks at night. The lower one is called "Caixa Econômica Federal" and the highest one, "Banco Central" ( our FED Bank ).

O Setor Bancário Sul ao anoitecer, destacando-se o edifício-sede do Banco Central, à direita