Cavorting in Curitiba - an ode to the greenest city in Brazil

Curitiba was NOT on my list of places to visit. A few Brazilians I know from Hamburg had actually argued pretty strongly that this was not a worthwhile stop for my travels. But I'd heard from my tandem partner back in Hamburg that it was beautiful and green, and then I met a great girl (shout out to you Juliana!) in Florianopolis who was from Curitiba. It was an easy stop from Foz do Iguaçu and so, I booked my ticket.

And oh my god, am I pleased I did. This city has it all. Food, parks, skyscrapers, and really great coffee. It has only been two (and a half!) weeks in Brazil, but Curitiba is definitely my favourite place that I have been so far. Strap in, this post is going to be a long one.

My time in Curitiba wouldn't have been half as good, if it wasn't for Juliana, and also Gustavo, being the most excellent tour guides. Foi um fim de semana de caralho! They took me on on a role bem curitibano and showed me a very local side of the city. And most importantly, Itook me to the best food spots AND cooked the best meal (more on that later). Also special shout out to them for being extremely patient with my Portuguese. (Had to take Monday off from communicating with people though, my brain was so tired hahaa). Muito muito obrigada a vocês.

One last thing before I dive into the "meat" of this post. I'm still trying to figure out if I want to structure this blog as more of a "how-to" guide, or if I merely recount what I've been up in each city. Friends and family, let me know - would you still read if the posts were a bit more educational, or do you prefer me focusing just on my experiences? Please let me know in the comments!

The city

My escapades in Florianópolis caused a bit of worry in my parents and in separate conversations with my Dad and my Mum, where I had to reassure them that I was indeed still alive, both confessed to never having heard of Curitiba. So I thought I'd do a run-down for you all!

Curitiba is the capital city of the state of Paraná and has just under 2 million inhabitants. It's definitely a LARGE city, with skyscrapers absolutely everywhere, but it's also full of green spaces and huge parks. The state of Paraná sits in the South of the country, just under the state of São Paulo and is also home to the Iguaçu waterfalls. Curitiba is known as a great example of "clean environmental urban planning", mostly developed under the guidance of former mayor and architect Jaime Lerner. The city sits at 930m above sea level and tends to have a slightly cooler climate. I was told that Curitiba is known for its frosty temperature and the frosty temperament of its inhabitants! Pleased to confirm that neither of these things rang true during my time in the city.

The places

There is so much to see in Curitiba that it is hard to separate out the places from the activities, given that exploring the city by foot is one of the main things to do. That being said, Curitiba is still a big city and the distances between places was much more than I expected. Nonetheless, there were a couple of places that I managed to explore independently.

Jardim Botânico

Ok, so on Google Maps, this literally looks like a green dot and you'd be forgiven for thinking that it was just some small square with a bit of lawn. BUT NO. This park is HUGE and also pretty symbolic for the city of Curitiba. It's got a beautiful greenhouse, which reminded me a bit of Kew Gardens in London (lol, where else?) along with other smalls parks within the grounds, such as the Sensory experience and the Four Seasons.

A view of the greenhouse in the Botanical Garden

I've been told that my descriptions of places is rather lacking (once again, thanks for the feedback Dad!), so let me try. It's a rather sculpted park, staircases flowing up to the main attraction of the green house and mowed patches of grass, with "do not walk on" signs. Much like the rest of Curitiba, it isn't flat and the levels flow up and down, meaning you cannot see from one side to the other. It definitely felt like a tourist hotspot, and in comparison to the other parks I visited, there was definitely a lack of people laying there or using the space in a common way. Beautiful though!

Mercado Municipal

If you're looking for an authentic market, with lots of activity and a variety of goods, this is the place. It's situated just opposite the main bus terminal and sits on two floors. The upper floor is mainly home to a food court, with the lower floor full of tiny stalls, mostly grouped by produce type. Running along the outer edge are various coffee shops, with tiny tables lining the outer perimeter of the building. It's a busy and loud place of activity, where locals continue to do their shopping, and it was absolutely fabulous.

There's the fruit and veg section, the nut section, the sweet section, the artesanal section, the fish (dead) section, and the fish (alive) section.

I came here for breakfast with a couple of people from my hostel, right after arriving in the city, and it was the perfect welcome. Reasonable prices, all stalls accept card, and the fruit and veg stall even let me wash my fruit directly there.

MON - Museu de Oscar Niemeyer

I can't write a post about Curitiba, without mentioning this gem. It's a museum and cultural space designed by the famous architect Oscar Niemeyer. If you're thinking, hold on a second I know that name, it's probably because he's most known for designing many public buildings in Brasília (not going to lie, I did just google this to confirm this fact!). It's right in the middle of the city and surrounded by green lawn on all sides. From the centre of the building projects a giant tower, resembling a black iris. Super cool.

We got to the museum just 40 minutes before entry (final admittance at 17:30, closes at 18:00) and there was just too much to see before the security guards turfed us out. There are 11 different exhibitions across two buildings, some permanent, some temporary. My favourite was "Tela" from Leila Pugnaloni - you can find some more information about it here. The picture in the middle is actually a still of a video, where I am doing a happy wiggle (those that know my happy food dance - this wiggle was very similar!).

After basically running around the museum, we rewarded ourselves with a beer and watched the sunset. An exhibition in and of itself ;)

The activities

Tourbus

Now I am not usually a tour-bus kinda girl. I usually prefer to explore places on foot, but after being recommended by several people to try the tourist line, me and Juliana did! You buy a ticket that is valid for 24 hours (price Sep 2023, 50 reais), and you can hop on and off as many times as you like. As Curitiba is a lot bigger than a thought, this was really perfect to tick off some of the sights slightly further out of the city. I am linking to the tourism line here - Juliana and I hopped off at:

Universidade Livre do Meio Ambiente (known as Unilivre)

Ópera de Alarme

Parque Tanguá

Parque Barigui (actually we got off at the Panomaric Tower but we could.not.be.arsed. to wait in a v long and v stationary queue)

Parks

This brings me extremely nicely onto my next point (almost as I deliberately planned the layout of this blog??), which is the parks! Couldn't initially decide if these would be more appropriate in the "activities" or "places" section, but honestly, they were such a hub of activity, it felt better placed here. If you don't have time for many parks, definitely be sure to head to Parque Barigui. I saw ACTUAL capybaras. Like I was ONE FOOT away from a capybara. Going to insert a picture I nicked from Juliana so you can appreciate how close we were. SO SO COOL.

Market on Sunday

So in reality there seems to be pretty much a market every day of the week, I just happened to go to one on Sunday. It's situated around the Praça João Cândido and is full of artesanal and food stalls. Lots of capybara merch too.

The food and drinks

(In Matthew Mcconaughey voice), Alright, alright, alright. Time for my favourite part. And appropriately, just before I go find myself some dinner.

Stroganoff

Omg, every time I think about this, my mouth waters. Juliana kept asking if it tasted good, an girl, here is my proof that it definitely did. The Brazilians definitely have their own interpretation of the dish, but honestly, I think its better. It's normally served with chicken and rice and has a creamy sauce made up of tomato paste, mustard and ketchup. It's fabulous and definitely deserves a 10/10.

I only have a photo which does NOT do it justice.

Coxinha

I was recommended to try a coxinha from Dois Coracoes. However, I'll be leaving this one on a cliffhanger...

After a couple of beers, the excellent idea for a "coxinha index" was born - I'm still ironing out a few details on how I went to measure each coxinha and present my findings, but look for this to come to the blog soon.

Pastel

I got a pastel de carne e mussarella from the foodtruck "Pinheiros" (I think), which was at the market we visited on Sunday. Mmmm this was a parcel of joy. The pastry was thin and not too flaky and messy, PLUS you could pick up extra sauces and vinagrettes to go with it. The filling was nicely sauced and not dry AT ALL. 9/10.

Popcorn

Honorable shout out to this. Popcorn, you might be thinking, have you not eaten that before?

Of course, but this food has an almost cult-like status in Brazil. I associate popcorn normally only with trips to the cinema, but here every park has a least one vendor selling a variety of flavours. I tried some outside the MON and felt very Brazilian.

There was, of course, other DELICIOUS foods, but these are the ones that I feel are most deserving of a shout out. Also, I am too lazy to type anymore.

Is it worth visiting Curitiba?

Despite spending so many days here, there is still so much I haven't seen and neighbourhoods I haven't visited. Given that Curitiba is only a six hour bus journey from Sao Paulo with many bus companies serving this line (you can find out more here) , I would really recommend coming down to the city for at least two nights.

P.S. I'm sat in a cute coffee shop in Curitiba (DeGusto), sipping on an iced coffee and listening to BaianaSystem and alternating writing this post and staring out the window. A pretty optimal setup.