Curitiba, the beautiful Paraná capital!

Today Curitiba boasts more than 50 sq metres of green space per person. Photograph: Alamy

 Curitiba is the capital and largest city of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná and it's is an important cultural, political, and economic center in Latin America. The city sits on a plateau at 932 meters (3,058 ft) above sea level.

In the 1700s Curitiba possessed a favorable location between cattle-breeding country and marketplaces, leading to a successful cattle trade and the city's first major expansion. Later, between 1850 and 1950, it grew due to logging and agricultural expansion in the Paraná State (first Araucaria logging, later mate and coffee cultivation and in the 1970s wheat, corn and soybean cultivation). In the 1850s waves of European immigrants arrived in Curitiba, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians, contributing to the city's economic and cultural development. Nowadays, only smaller numbers of foreign immigrants arrive, primarily from Middle Eastern and other South American countries.

The biggest expansion occurred after the 1960s, with innovative urban planning that changed the population size from some hundreds of thousands to more than a million people.

Notable skyline features include the Panoramic Tower, with an observatory on top. Known as a cultural center, Curitiba is home to a number of performance venues, including the Wire Opera House, a structure of tubular steel with a transparent roof, and the huge Guaíra Theater, with diverse programs. source: wikimedia 

Tanguá Park. It was built on top of a complex of deactivated quarries. It is part of the Barigüi river preservation project joining.The park has a cooper and bicycle track, snack bar, belvedere and Poty Lazzaroto garden. Photo: Google

City Hall. Photo: wikimedia

Portugal Park.

• Portugal Wood: Homage to the Portuguese-Brazilian bonds, this space is highlighted by a track following a small brook, where one can see drawn on tiles excerpts from famous Portuguese language poets, as well as a tribute to the great Portuguese navigators and their discoveries.

Photo: wikimedia

Panoramic Tower: The 360-foot tall lookout tower allows travelers a 360° view of Curitiba and has a telephone museum on the ground floor. Photo: Google

Arch in German Memorial. German Woods: Opened in 1996, the German Grove honors the culture and traditions that German immigrants brought to Curitiba. It is a memorial to those immigrants who arrived in the city from 1833 and greatly contributed to the lifestyle of Curitiba. The grove has many other attractions. The Oratory Bach, a hall for concerts. The Tower of the Philosophers, with a gazebo. The Hansel and Gretel trail. The Haunted house, with a children's library. The Square of the German Culture. In addition to the native forest woods and freshwater springs. Photo: wikimedia

Wire Opera House: Built on the site of an abandoned quarry. Photo: Google

Wire Opera House (inside). Photo: wikimedia

Ukrainian memorial at Tingui Park. Photo: wikimedia

Tingui Park. Photo: Google

Brazilians of Ukrainian descent celebrating Easter in Curitiba. Ceremony blessing the food.

Curitiba has long garnered praise for being one of the world’s best models of urban planning. If it weren’t for the bold initiatives of its three-term mayor, Jaime Lerner, whose daring moves in early 1970s – transforming a six-block length of the downtown into a pedestrian zone (done in secret under the cover of darkness), creating five express-bus avenues with futuristic tubular boarding platforms, encouraging recycling and sustainable design long before it was fashionable and planting trees and creating parks on an enormous scale – Curitiba would probably resemble any other Brazilian city.

Instead, it’s the envy of urban planners the world over and Brazil’s most efficient city. Today, it’s easier to get around Curitiba than any other large city in Brazil. The city has also taken innovative approaches to urban ills such as homelessness, pollution and poverty. Today, the city ensures an above-average quality of life for Brazil. With its abundant green spaces, sophisticated population and well-heeled infrastructure, Curitiba is not a bad spot to recharge your batteries and soak in Brazil at its functioning best. source: lonelyplanet

Curitiba became a model for quality public transport, with policies including the rapid bus transit system. Photograph: Alamy

Curitiba’s futuristic ‘tube’ station system for buses. Photograph: Alamy

New system of raised platforms (the futuristic “tube” station system for which Curitiba has grown famous) that allow passengers to move straight from the station into the bus without the hassle of stairs; longer buses to add extra capacity to the fleet; and a system of pre-payment so that bus drivers do not have to issue tickets and collect money on the go. (theguardian)

The city also offers tourists the opportunity to visit good museums, parks with surprising beauty, such as Barigui and Botanical Gardens.

According to Lerner: ‘When you look at the parks the architecture is just great, because it is silent architecture.’ Photograph: Alamy

Botanical Garden

Botanical Gardem.

• Botanical Garden: Besides having a treasure trove of native plants, the Curitiba Botanical Garden is also known for its greenhouse, made of iron and glass and inspired in London's Crystal Palace. Families are often seen picnicking on the grounds.Curitiba’s landmark was inaugurated in 1991. Photo: wikimedia

Among the things that offer residents a good quality of living are its wide tree lined streets, leisure areas, planned industrial districts and residential neighborhoods that have what one expects from a modern and cosmopolitan metropolis.

Rua das Flores/Street
Located in Curitiba City Center, it was the first pavement for pedestrians in the country and is one of the symbols of the town's cultural revolution

Rua 24 Horas
Place for shopping, leisure and restaurants. Downtown.

Guaíra Theatre
One of the biggest theatres in Latin America

Oscar Niemeyer Museum
One of Brazil’s biggest and most modern museums. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the “eye” as it is called, is the conclusion of an old piece of work, built by the architect himself in 1976. This exotic, eye-shaped museum is painted with whimsical dancing figures in bold colors. Rotating exhibits highlight Brazilian and international artists of the 20th and 21st centuries; and there's an excellent permanent exhibit on Niemeyer himself. Free admission on the first Sunday of the month and after 6pm on the first Thursday of the month (when the museum closes at 8pm)

Iguaçu Falls. There are 275 falls surrounded by a simply breathtaking scenario. It is 637 km away from Curitiba.

Paço da Liberdade: Former municipal government headquarters. It is the only building in Curitiba to be listed at the three levels: federal, state and municipal and currently, houses a cultural center.