Visit Attractions

The National Congress Building.

Eixo Monumental
At the end of the Eixo Monumental ("Monumental Axis") lies the Esplanada dos Ministérios ("Ministries Esplanade"), an open area in downtown Brasília. The rectangular lawn is surrounded by two eight-lane avenues where many government buildings, monuments and memorials are located.

National Congress
The Palácio da Alvorada.
Brazil's bicameral National Congress consists of the Senate (the upper house) and the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil (the lower house). Since the 1960s, the National Congress has been located in Brasília. As with most official buildings throughout the city, it was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the style of modern Brazilian architecture. The hemisphere to the left is the seat of the Senate and the hemisphere to the right is the seat of the Chamber of Deputies. The Congress also occupies various other surrounding buildings, some connected by tunnels.
The National Congress building is located in the middle of the Eixo Monumental, the city's main avenue. In front lies a large lawn and reflecting pool. The building faces the Praça dos Três Poderes where the Palácio do Planalto and the Supremo Tribunal Federal are located.


Palácio da Alvorada
The Palácio da Alvorada is the official residence of the President of Brazil. The palace was designed, along with the rest of the city of Brasília, by Oscar Niemeyer and inaugurated in 1958.
One of the first structures built in the republic's new capital city, the "Alvorada" lies on a peninsula at the margins of Lake Paranoá. The principles of simplicity and modernity, that in the past characterized the great works of architecture, motivated Niemeyer. The viewer has an impression of looking at a glass box, softly landed on the ground with the support of thin external columns.
The building has an area of 7,000 m2 with three floors consisting of the basement, landing, and second floor. The auditorium, kitchen, laundry, medical center, and administration offices are at basement level. The rooms used by the presidency for official receptions are on the landing. The second floor has four suites, two apartments, and various private rooms which make up the residential part of the palace.
The building also has a library, a heated Olympic-sized swimming pool, a music room, two dining rooms and various meeting rooms. A chapel and heliport are in adjacent buildings.


The Palácio do Planalto.


The Palácio do Planalto is the official workplace of the President of Brazil. It is located at the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília. As the seat of government, the term "O Planalto" is often used as a metonym for the executive branch of government.
The main working office of the President of the Republic is in the Palácio do Planalto. The President and his family do not live in it, rather in the official residence, the Palácio da Alvorada. Besides the President, senior advisors also have offices in the "Planalto," including the Vice-President of Brazil and the Chief of Staff. The other Ministries are along the Esplanada dos Ministérios.
The architect of the Palácio do Planalto was Oscar Niemeyer, creator of most of the important buildings in Brasília. The idea was to project an image of simplicity and modernity using fine lines and waves to compose the columns and exterior structures.
The Palace is four stories high, and has an area of 36,000 m2. Four other adjacent buildings are also part of the complex.



Itamaraty Palace, headquarters of the Ministry of External Relations.
Complexo Cultural da República

The Complexo Cultural da República (Portuguese for Cultural Complex of the Republic) is formed by the National Library of Brasília and the National Museum of the Republic. It is situated in the Eixo Monumental, next to the Cathedral of Brasília.
The National Library of Brasília (Biblioteca Nacional de Brasília in Portuguese) occupies an area of 14,000 m2, consisting of reading and study rooms, auditorium and a collection of over 300,000 items.
The National Museum of the Republic (Museu Nacional da República in Portuguese) consists of a 14,500 m2 exhibit area, two 780-seat auditoriums, and a laboratory. The space is mainly used to display temporary art exhibits.



Paranoá Lake

Paranoá Lake is a large artificial lake built to increase the amount of water available to the region. It has the second largest marina in Brazil, and hosts wakeboarders and windsurfers

Juscelino Kubitschek bridge

The Juscelino Kubitschek bridge, also known as the 'President JK Bridge' or the 'JK Bridge', crosses Lake Paranoá in Brasília. It is named after Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, former president of Brazil. It was designed by architect Alexandre Chan and structural engineer Mário Vila Verde. Chan won the Gustav Lindenthal Medal[30] for this project at the 2003 International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh due to "...outstanding achievement demonstrating harmony with the environment, aesthetic merit and successful community participation".

It consists of three 60 m (200 ft) tall asymmetrical steel arches that crisscross diagonally. With a length of 1,200 m (0.75 miles), it was completed in 2002 at a cost of US$ 56.8 million. The bridge has a pedestrian walkway and is accessible to bicyclists and skaters.

Praça dos Três Poderes

Supreme Court of Brazil.
Praça dos Três Poderes (Portuguese for Square of the Three Powers) is a plaza in Brasília. The name is derived from the encounter of the three federal branches around the plaza: the Executive, represented by the Palácio do Planalto (presidential office); the Legislative, represented by the National Congress (Congresso Nacional); and the Judicial branch, represented by the Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal).
It is a tourist attraction in Brasília, designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer as a place where the three branches would meet harmoniously.

Cathedral of Brasília

The Cathedral of Brasília in the capital of the Federative Republic of Brazil, is an expression of the architect Oscar Niemeyer. This concrete-framed hyperboloid structure, seems with its glass roof reaching up, open, to the heavens. On 31 May 1970, the Cathedral’s structure was finished, and only the 70 m (229.66 ft) diameter of the circular area were visible. Niemeyer's project of Cathedral of Brasília is based in the hyperboloid of revolution which sections are asymmetric. The hyperboloid structure itself is a result of 16 identical assembled concrete columns. These columns, having hyperbolic section and weighing 90 t, represent two hands moving upwards to heaven. The Cathedral was dedicated on 31 May 1970.

Popular culture

Brasília has also been the focus of modern day literature. Published in 2008, The World In Grey: Dom Bosco's Prophecy, by author Ryan J. Lucero, tells an apocalyptic story based on the famous prophecy from the late 19th century by the Italian saint Don Bosco.[31]
According to Don Bosco's prophecy
Between parallels 15 and 20, around a lake which shall be formed; A great civilization will thrive, and that will be the Promised Land.
Brasília lies between the parallels 15° S and 20° S, where an artificial lake (Paranoá Lake) was formed. Don Bosco is Brasília's patron saint.
American Flagg!, the First Comics comic book series created by Howard Chaykin, portrays Brasília as a cosmopolitan world capital of culture and exotic romance. In the series, it is a top vacation and party destination.


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