Things to see and do Recife

There is in fact not one but two parks dedicated to sculptures in Recife. The first one is located near the Recife shopping mall, where the consumer society finds a place to reflect. In a park of 19,000 square meters, one can admire the works of 39 Brazilian artists, such as Lula Cardoso Ayres, Corbiniano Lins or Evêncio and of course, the works of Francisco Brennand. The second space dedicated to sculpture is the one in the port of Recife, which can be reached by boat from the "marco Zero". All the works are by Brennand.

Francisco Brennand took over the family ceramic factory. Today, the site occupies 15,000 square meters and Brennand's wild creations are displayed in the large garden surrounding the main building. Inside, dozens of other sculptures, sketches, prints... Ony still produces ceramics industrially. To get there, a taxi is the best option. Determine the price of the trip (outward, waiting, return) before getting on board.

The mercado de São José gives the temperature of the popular Recife. Built by French architects, the iron market of the São José district is directly inspired by the Grenelle market. It was inaugurated in 1875 and today you can find more than 500 stalls selling a wide variety of products: handicrafts, medicinal herbs, cashew nuts, etc. It is always very pleasant to stroll around and get lost before going to the patio of São Pedro. Be careful, however, when the market closes, the neighborhood becomes empty and unsafe.

Dona Lindu Park is an urban space designed by Oscar Niemeyer. This space is dedicated to the courageous women of the North East and to Lula's mother. It is easy to recognize the style of the great Carioca architect, with its pure and fluid curves. Built as part of a certain desire for urban renaissance in a city plagued by the evils of violence and crisis and inaugurated in 2011, this park, in addition to its green areas, bike paths, skatepark and playground, is composed of an art gallery and the Luiz Mendonça Theater.

Like many Brazilian metropolises, especially those in the Northeast, the city centers that were born during the colonial period or during the sugar cycle had become places of misery and violence, where only those who could not escape these places of exclusion remained. The more affluent classes had long since left the historic districts to move to the more open spaces of residential areas such as Casa Amarela or Boa Viagem with its Benidorm air. The municipality has worked on the Western process of reclaiming the centres. Old Recife is the starting point of the city and is at the heart of this reclamation process. The process of renovation is slow and the animation of the streets in the evening is in decline. You can see the port of Recife with a beautiful view of the sea and the Esculturas Francisco Brennand park. The Praça Rio Branco (better known as Marco Zero, "the zero marker") is decorated with the Rosa dos Ventos, by the Pernambuco painter Cicero Dias. There are also various cultural institutes, such as the Malakoff Cultural Observatory, located in the Tunisian-style tower of the same name, which houses an astronomical observatory. The Apolo Theatre, from the 19th century. Also a beautiful church, the Igreja da Madre de Deus, dating from the eighteenth century. In the Rua do Bom Jesus, which was called the street of the Jews in the 17th century, stands the Kahal Zur Israel synagogue. Also of interest is Fort Brum (1629), which houses a military museum.

In the heart of Santo Antônio, the Praça da Republica is one of the most beautiful squares in the city, founded on the gardens of Count Maurice de Nassau. It is formed by three gardens with numerous sculptures of classical deities. Around the fountain, lit at night, are imperial palms and a huge old baobab tree. Around the square, the Teatro Santa Isabel designed by the Frenchman Lousi-Léger Vautier, a high place of the cultural life of the city (19th century), the Palácio do Campo das Princesas (1841) and the Palácio da Justiça.

It is an area where you can admire houses and sobrados from the 19th century, when the area was popular with the population as a holiday resort. Its lands belonged to theengenho Casa Forte. There was only a small village with a few houses. Doctors began to advise the members of the richest families to go there, because the Capibaribe River that flowed there could have medicinal properties. The rich families of Recife started to build sobrados. The Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Saúde (1820) can also be seen here.

Situated in the heart of the ancient island of Antonio Vaz, it is one of the most important ensembles of Portuguese architecture. Here you can see the impressive cathedral of São Pedro dos Clerigos, built in baroque style and finished in 1792, which will enjoy the beautiful dodécagonale nave and the ceiling painted by the eye. The whole has recently been rehabilitated to make it a tourist and exit area and today is one of the most charming places in the historic centre: a small, picturesque colonial square with restaurants and cafés.

It was during the Dutch domination (1630-1654) that the Jewish-Portuguese communities came to settle, taking advantage of the great religious tolerance of the Batavians. This synagogue is the oldest synagogue in America, operating from 1641 to 1654. The building was archaeologically excavated and opened to the public in 2001. The floor and objects from the 17th century, such as the Mikvê, a small bathtub used in purification rituals, are on display.

It covers almost 390 hectares and is one of the largest urban fragments of Atlantic forest in Pernambuco. Dois Irmãos State Park is considered one of the main centres of in situ nature conservation in the country. Its exuberant ecosystem is home to free-living plants and animals, such as sloths, marmosets, coatis, capybaras and several birds. It is a botanical and zoological garden and an environmental education centre. Guides accompany visitors on the trails (remember to make reservations).

The origins of the Basilica of Nossa Senhora da Penha date back to the time of the hereditary captaincies, when the Dutch Count Maurice de Nassau, then governor, welcomed the first French Capuchin missionaries to Recife in 1642. The church was rebuilt in 1870, in an eclectic style of Italian inspiration. Inside, there are paintings by the Pernambuco artist Murillo la Greca. As well as the Museu Dom Vital (open on Fridays from 6am to 6pm).

For those who take the road on one of the many bridges in the city linking the old Pernambuco to Olinda, it is difficult not to see this military building. Built by the Dutch in 1667, the fort was originally called Frederic Henry in honour of the Prince of Orange but, given its pentagonal structure, it was soon nicknamed Forte das Cinco Pontas (Fort of the Five Points), its current common name. It now houses the Museu da Cidade de Recife.

The museum was founded in 1979 by Gilberto Freyre as a result of the merger of three other museums: the Museum of Anthropology (1961-1978), the Museum of Popular Art (1955-1978) and the Sugar Museum (1963-1978). It is a reference in the whole region, especially for its research in the areas of anthropology, sugar culture and popular art. Origins, works, beliefs, habitat, habits and customs that reveal the cultural diversity of the Nordeste.

The museum has been housed since 1940 in the beautiful Palacete, a 19th century building in the Graças district, the former residence of Dr. Augusto Frederico de Oliveira, son of the Baron of Beberibe. It has an important and varied collection of pieces related to the history of the State from its creation in the 16th to the 19th century: war relics, furniture, jewels, coins, paintings, instruments, etc. Important collection of art from the colonial and Dutch periods.

This is the only beach in Recife that is worth a visit. Lined with imposing modern buildings, it extends over 7 km (with reefs a few hundred meters from the shore), the water is on average 26 ° C. Particularly frequented at weekends by a varied public but especially family. You can easily eat on the beach, accompanied as it should be by an água de coco or a cerveja gelada. Frequent shark attacks.

Other beaches of interest include:

Gaïbu, 30 km to the south.

Jatiuca and Pajuçara are nice beaches in the vicinity.

The "fantasias" of the Rio Carnival are world-famous, those of the Recife and Olinda Carnivals are less so. Like the "giants" of the carnivals of the North, the large dolls that parade through the streets of Recife and Olinda during the carnival rest in this museum the rest of the year. They are made up of singers, actors, politicians and showbiz figures, and there are many personalities whose effigies have been transformed into these big men.

Casa da Cultura is an amazing building housed in a prison until 1973. It was built as a cross to facilitate surveillance of all cells. Today there is a vast commercial and artisan complex. Many small souvenir and craft shops (of varying quality) are installed in the old cells, as well as art galleries and folk presentations. The old central station of Recife (1888) houses the train museum and the metro terminal.

This chapel is one of the splendors of Recife. Built between 1696 and 1724, this chapel, so named for its fine gold woodwork, is one of the best examples of Baroque art in Pernambuco. It houses the Franciscan Museum of Sacred Art as well as the convent and Igreja de Santo Antônio, the former hospital building and the Ordem Terceira house of prayer, which make up the Franciscan complex in Recife. You can see beautiful azulejos.

Dedicated to the patron saint of Recife, the majestic Carmelite Church was built between 1687 and 1767, on the site of the Palácio da Boa Vista, of the German Count João Maurício de Nassau, the governor of Dutch Brazil. The interior of the building is Baroque in style and contains some interesting works. Together with the Convento do Carmo and the Igreja de Santa Teresa da Ordem Terceira, it makes up the Carmelite complex of Recife, initiated a century after the arrival of this order in Brazil.

Gilberto Freyre is known for his Brazilian epic work Masters and Slaves , which deciphers the complex social structures of Brazilian colonial society. His large property in the Apipucos district, where the anthropologist and sociologist Gilberto Freyre lived for more than 40 years, is a former 19th century Casa Grande. This former 19th century "Casa Grande" was transformed into a museum in 1987. There are pieces of ethno-anthropological, artistic and literary interest.