Street art, live music events and superb art exhibitions create a vibrant atmosphere at Porto Maravilha. Once a thriving dockyard, a redevelopment project began in 2011 to turn the Porto Maravilha into one of Rio’s most contemporary urban districts. Visit Porto Maravilha to see how warehouses have been turned into venues for cultural and educational activities. Thousands of trees were planted and new bike lanes and pathways were also installed.
Start your tour of the district at Plaza Mauá, where a monument to Brazilian entrepreneur Irineu Evangelista de Sousa stands proudly in its center. The Museu de Arte do Rio sits in a collection of modern and historic buildings on the square’s western side. Here, avant-garde exhibitions have a focus on the city of Rio and feature artists such as Evandro Teixeira and Rosana Paulino.
Turn your attention to the waterfront and the imposing and futuristic Museum of Tomorrow. This mixed art gallery and science museum explores the future of our planet through innovative exhibits. See multimedia images of current events, such as forest fires and receding glaciers, projected onto huge totem poles. Go on a visual adventure through galaxies and step inside the modern replica of a tribal elder’s house.
The Boulevard Olimpico runs along the waterfront and passes former warehouses decorated with a street art mural by Eduardo Kobra. Called Etnias (Ethnicities), the mural features five faces from five continents. Many of the warehouses double up as event venues for concerts, expositions and festivals of jazz and urban dance.
Bring the kids to AquaRio, a hands-on aquarium where there are huge tanks filled with coral, exotic fish species, rays and sharks. Activities include sleepovers inside the aquarium and shark swims. There’s also a museum dedicated to the history of surfing in Brazil.
Porto Maravilha occupies areas of the Centro and Gamboa neighborhoods. Travel here by taking the light rail system from downtown. The Parada dos Museus, Parada dos Navios and Utopia Aquario stations all serve the area.
