Curitiba, Brazil Review

Overall 4.50 of 5 view all 2 reviews

mrkstvns
Austin, TX

Brazil's Liveable Southern City...

off the beaten path, love local culture and products, in the city, active traveler, interested in cultural experiences, livin' la vida loca

Pros

clean, affordable, amazing transit system, many parks, good airport

MAY

2008

Curitiba, Brazil —

When it comes to Brazilian hot spots, few tourists would name Curitiba as a big drawing card for them. That's too bad in a way, because it's really a very nice city with quite a lot to see and do. It's also smaller and a whole lot cleaner and safer than bigger cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janiero. Of course, without the sensuous beaches of Rio or the cosmopolitan sophistication of Sao Paulo, Curitiba has a tough nut to crack. Still a cool place, and very different from other Brazilian cities.

One of the things you can't help but notice right away is how *blond* the people are. There's still a few folks with definite hispanic or indigenous heritages, but unlike most of Brazil, the folks who settled in Curitiba were mostly Russians, Czechs, Germans, and Ukrainians. You also notice that the streets are wider and the parks cleaner. They have a penchant for wide boulevards in Curitiba, and they have the best city transit system in the country with easy connections to the intercity buses going onwards and outwards. The airport (Aeroporto Afonso Pena --- IATA code CWB) kicks ass --- super modern and clean, with lots of flights to everywhere in Brazil, and easy bus transfers from the airport to the city center.

Downtown Curitiba is bustling, except on Sundays, when virtually every business in the city shuts down and every person without a pigeon on his head is either out in the countryside with his or her kids, or lying in a hospital bed wondering where all the damn nurses went. It's great!

Curitiba is an old Portugese colonial city with roots that stretch back more than 3 centuries. The cidade velha is the old quarter, and it's a great place to wander around and get some nostalgia working. There's lots of monuments and historic buildings to see, but one of the easiest ways to enjoy downtown is to simply pull up a chair in one of the myriad small sidewalk cafes and order up a refreshing chopp ("chopp", pronounced "show pee", is what Brazilians call draft beers). There are some delightful old churches downtown (check out the ruins of Sao Francisco!) and folks who get the urge to go buy something at 2 in the morning can head over to "Rua 24 Horas" --- an interesting shopping arcade that never closes.

The best thing to experience in Curitiba are its parks. I can't think of another city of this size with so many excellent parks. Don't miss the Botanical Gardens with their fabulous greenhouse and spectacular water fountains. The city's biggest park is Barigui, which is so big that it actually provides real habitat to a number of sub-tropical species, though most people either come for the museums and exhibits, the bicycling, the gym, or to just have a nice picnic under the trees.

If you do visit Curitiba, you'll want to take the Serra Verde Express. This is an awesome train ride through the mountainous rain forest region heading from Curitiba to the coastal cities of Morretes and Paranagua. I highly recommend the train trip --- the scenery is simply spectacular, with sheer cliffs, long tunnels, waterfalls, ghost towns, and lush green rain forests all along the way. Unforgettable!

I'm a bit of a cheapskate, and I'll readily admit that one reason I love Curitiba is because it is SOO cheap to visit there. 4-star and 5-star hotels can be had for $50 a night. Beers are like 60 cents and I don't think I ever paid more than $5 for a meal. Such a cool city, and cheap too!

If you're traveling through southeastern Brazil, there's a good chance your travels will take you through Curitiba. That's a good thing. I think you'll find the city as pleasant and affordable as I do, and though it won't take you more than a couple days to get a feel for it, it is worth hanging out in for a while.