50 Beautiful Places to Visit in South and Central America

Iconic Christ statue atop a mountain. Christ the Redeemer is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot. Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida fashioned the face. Constructed between 1922 and 1931, the statue is 30 metres high, excluding its 8-metre pedestal. The arms stretch 28 metres wide. It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.

The statue weighs 635 metric tons (625 long, 700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. A symbol of Christianity around the world, the statue has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil and was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.^[1]

Peak with a cableway and panoramic views. Sugarloaf Mountain is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising 396 m above the harbor, its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. It is known worldwide for its cableway and panoramic views of the city and beyond.

The mountain is one of several monolithic granite and quartz mountains that rise straight from the water's edge around Rio de Janeiro. Geologically, it is considered part of a family of steep-sided rock outcroppings known as non-inselberg bornhardts.

The mountain is protected by the Sugarloaf Mountain and Urca Hill Natural Monument, created in 2006. This became part of a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO in 2012.^[2]

Park in São Paulo, Brazil. Ibirapuera Park is an urban park in São Paulo. It comprises 158 hectares between Av. República do Líbano, Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, and Av. IV Centenário, and is the most visited park in South America, with 14.4 million visits in 2017.

Ibirapuera Park was the first metropolitan park in São Paulo, designed along the lines of other great English landscape gardens built in the 20th century in major cities around the globe, but inspired on modern drafts from the landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. It was inaugurated on 21 August 1954 for the 400th anniversary of the city of São Paulo with buildings designed by architect João Felipe Pereira and landscape by agronomist Otávio Augusto Teixeira Mendes. The construction of several pavilions in the park was controversial when the park was designed, and group of people advocated for an exclusively green park rather than one that included buildings. In the 90s, its green areas were graded heritage-listed status by the city and the state of São Paulo to avoid further construction and keep its historical gardens and green open spaces preserved. In 2016, the complex of buildings designed by Niemeyer in the park were also registered as national landmark by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute.

Ibirapuera is one of Latin America's largest urban parks, together with Chapultepec Park in Mexico City and Simón Bolívar Park in Bogota, and its iconic importance to São Paulo is often internationally comparable to that of Central Park to New York City. The park is often cited as one of the most vibrant and photographed parks in the world, as together with its large area for leisure, jogging and walking, it hosts a vivid cultural scene with museums, a music hall, and popular events such as São Paulo Fashion Week, congresses and trade shows. It is claimed to be the most visited urban park in South America, is listed as one of the best parks in the world, and has been described as "a green oasis at the heart of a concrete jungle".

The park has been managed for decades by the city of São Paulo, but the local government plans to concession all its parks' management to private hands, starting with Ibirapuera Park. Since 2014, the park also has the support of the Ibirapuera Park Conservancy (Parque Ibirapuera Conservação), a strong community nonprofit that supports park stewardship and conservation actions through a capital improvement plan, engagement projects and volunteer work. Admission to the park has been free since 1954, and it is open from 5am until midnight every day.^[5]

Large collection by renowned artists. The São Paulo Museum of Art is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo Bardi, whose main body is supported by two lateral beams over a 74 metres freestanding space, considered a landmark of the city and a main symbol of modern Brazilian architecture.

The museum is a non-profit institution founded in 1947 by Assis Chateaubriand and Pietro Maria Bardi. MASP distinguished itself for many important initiatives concerning museology and art education in Brazil, as well as for its pioneering role as a cultural center. It was also the first Brazilian museum interested in post-World War II art.

The museum is internationally recognized for its collection of European art, considered the finest in Latin America and all Southern Hemisphere. It also houses an emphatic assemblage of Brazilian art, prints and drawings, as well as smaller collections of African and Asian art, antiquities, decorative arts, and others, amounting to more than 8,000 pieces. MASP also has one of the largest art libraries in the country. The entire collection has been named by Brazil's Institute of History and Art to the Brazilian National Heritage list.^[8]

Neoclassical Catholic cathedral. The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the city center, overlooking Plaza de Mayo, on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavia streets, in the San Nicolás neighbourhood. It is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and the primatial church of Argentina.

The Cathedral of Buenos Aires was rebuilt several times since its humble origins in the 16th century. The present building is a mix of architectural styles, with an 18th-century nave and dome and a severe, 19th-century Neoclassical façade without towers. The interior keeps precious 18th-century statues and altarpieces, as well as abundant Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque decoration.^[9]

Iconic building with presidential office. The Palácio do Planalto in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil. The building was designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1958 and inaugurated on April 21, 1960. It has been the workplace of every Brazilian president since Juscelino Kubitschek. It is located at the Praça dos Três Poderes, to the east of the National Congress of Brazil and across from the Supreme Federal Court.

It is one of the official palaces of the Presidency, along with the Palácio da Alvorada, the official residence. Besides the President, other high ranking government officials also work from the Planalto, including the Vice President and the Chief of Staff; the other government ministry buildings are located on the Ministries Esplanade. As the seat of government, the term Planalto is often used as a metonym for the executive branch of the federal government.

The building, constructed in the modernist style, is part of the Brasília World Heritage Site, designated by UNESCO in 1987.^[13]

Science museum with a planetarium. The Maloka Museum is an interactive science museum located in Bogotá, Colombia. Visitors interact with a wide variety of exhibits that explore topics in Science and Technology.

The museum has 9 rooms, with different science and technology topics; the Telecommunications Room shows interactive games about Binary System, the Computers' language, How does the cellphone work or what's the communication process.

The next room is The City, it shows different modules where you can see 3D images of Bogotá with glasses, the development and history of the city and see a model of it where you can see all the buildings in it.

The Human is a room where visitors can explore the perfect machine, the human body.

The Universe room is one of the most popular rooms in the museum, where visitors can do experiments, such as knowing a person's weight in the planets of Solar System.

Petroleum, is other room located in the second floor, there one can see the process of exploring and exploiting that treasure, and its different kinds and characteristics.

The Water Room, show you through games the physic and chemical characteristics of that liquid; the others are the Biodiversity and Boys & Girls' room.

The museum has an Activity Zone with math games and activities too.

The museum has a dome theater where documentaries are shown.^[17]

The Museum of Modern Art of Bahia is a modern art museum located in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It is located within Solar do Unhão, a historical site dating to the 16th century, on the margin of the Bay of All Saints. The museum was founded in 1960 under the architect Lina Bo Bardi and initially located in the foyer of the Castro Alves Theater; it moved to its present location in 1963. MAM-BA is one of twelve state museums linked to the Institute of Artistic and Cultural Heritage, an authority of the Department of Culture of the State of Bahia.

The collection of MAM-BA is noted for paintings, sculptures, photographs, and drawings by artists such as Tarsila do Amaral, Portinari, Flávio de Carvalho, Di Cavalcanti, Rubem Valentim, Pancetti, Carybé, Mário Cravo Neto, and Sante Scaldaferri. MAM-BA has eight exhibition rooms; a theater; a library; a technical space to house conservation, restoration, and museology; and an art workshop that offers open courses of painting, engraving techniques, ceramics, drawing, handmade paper, and sculpture to the community.^[20]

Palace and official presidential residence. The Government Palace, also known as the House of Pizarro, is the seat of the executive branch of the Peruvian Government, and the official residence of the President of Peru. The palace is a stately government building, occupying the northern side of the Plaza Mayor in Peru's capital city, Lima. Set on the Rímac River, the palace occupies the site of a very large huaca that incorporated a shrine to Taulichusco, the last kuraka of Lima.

The first Government Palace was built by Francisco Pizarro, governor of New Castile, in 1535. When the Viceroyalty of Peru was established in 1542, it became the viceroy's residence and seat of government. The most recent alterations to the building were completed in the 1930s, under the direction of President Oscar R. Benavides during his second term of office. The chief architects were Claude Antoine Sahut Laurent and Ricardo de Jaxa Malachowski.

A number of ceremonial guard units of the Peruvian Armed Forces are stationed at the Palace, and participate in the daily Changing of the Guard ceremony and other official duties.^[22]

Famed 18th-century Catholic church. The Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim is the most famous of the Catholic churches of Salvador, in the State of Bahia, Brazil. It was built in the 18th century on the only line of hills in the Itapagipe Peninsula, in the lower town of Salvador. The church is the subject of intense religious devotion by the people of Salvador and is the site of a famous celebration held every year in January, the Festa do Senhor do Bonfim. The church is the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bonfim. The church is noted for the Festa do Bonfim, held annually the second Thursday after Three Kings Day. The festival combines elements of both Catholicism and Candomblé. It was listed as a historic structure by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute in 1938.^[29]

Modern garden for primarily native flora. The Jardim Botânico de Curitiba, in Portuguese, or the Botanical Garden of Curitiba, in English, also known as the "Jardim Botânico Fanchette Rischbieter", is a park located in the city of Curitiba - the capital of the state of Paraná, and the biggest city in southern Brazil. It is the major tourist attraction and landmark of the city, and it houses part of the campus of the Federal University of Paraná. The international identification code is CURIT.

Opened in 1991, Curitiba's trademark botanical garden was created in the style of French gardens. Once by the portal of entry, one may see extensive gardens in the French style amidst fountains, waterfalls and lakes, and the main greenhouse of 458 square meters, which shelters in its interior, specimens of plants characteristic of tropical regions. It rolls out its carpet of flowers to the visitors right at the entrance. The park occupies 240.000 m² in area. The principal greenhouse, in an art nouveau style with a modern metallic structure, resembles the mid-19th century Crystal Palace in London. The Botanic Museum, which provides a national reference collection of native flora, attracts researchers from all over the world. It includes many botanic species from the moist Atlantic Forests of eastern Brazil.

The native forest is filled with paths for strolling. Behind the greenhouse is the Museum of Franz Krajcberg, the Polish Brazilian artist who took up the cause of environmental conservation; with 1,320 square meters of area, divided into multimedia classrooms, an auditorium with 60 seats and lounge with several exhibitions of works donated by visual artists, represented by sculptures and reliefs, as well as photographs, videos, publications and educational materials.

In the other side of the park is the Botanical Museum, a wooden building whose main entrance is reached through a wooden bridge. The Botanical Museum of Curitiba has the fourth largest herbarium in the country. In front of the construction there is a pond with carp, turtles, herons, etc. and around the building there is a lake, an auditorium, a library, an expositions area, a theatre, tennis courts and a cycle track.^[31]

Market in Santiago, Chile. The Mercado Central de Santiago is the central market of Santiago de Chile. It was opened in 1872 and Fermín Vivaceta was in charge of its construction. The market replaced the Plaza del Abasto, which was destroyed by a fire in 1864.

The market is housed in a building in which its main feature is a cast-iron roof and supporting structure, which was fabricated by the Scottish firm R Laidlaw & Sons, Glasgow. Edward Woods and Charles Henry Driver took part in the design of the structure.

The metal structure stands on a square base and features a vaulted ceiling. Its intricate roof design consists of a central pyramidal roof crowned by a domed tower, which is surrounded by 8 smaller roofs with a two-tier design. The structure is enclosed by a masonry building.^[33]

Contemporary art and design museum. The Oscar Niemeyer Museum is located in the city of Curitiba, in the state of Paraná, in Brazil. It was inaugurated in 2002 with the name Novo Museu or New Museum. With the conclusion of remodeling and the construction of a new annex, it was reinaugurated on July 8, 2003, with the current denomination to honor its famous architect who completed this project at 95 years of age. It is also known as Museu do Olho or Niemeyer's Eye, due to the design of the building.

The museum focuses on the visual arts, architecture and design. For its magnificence, beauty and for the importance of the collection, it represents a cultural institution of international significance. The complex of two buildings, installed in an area of 35 thousand square meters (of which 19 thousand are dedicated to exhibition space), it is a true example of architecture allied with art. The first building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in 1967, faithful to the style of the time, and conceived as an educational institute, which was opened in 1978.

The museum features many of Niemeyer's signature elements: bold geometric forms, sculptural curved volumes placed prominently to contrast with rectangular volumes, sinuous ramps for pedestrians, large areas of white painted concrete, and areas with vivid murals or paintings. Though rooted in modern architecture since his involvement in the international style, Niemeyer's designs have much in common with postmodern architecture as well and this is as contemporary a building as the artwork it displays.^[34]

The Panama Canal locks are a lock system that lifts ships up 85 feet to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and down again. The original canal had a total of six steps for a ship's passage. The total length of the lock structures, including the approach walls, is over 1.9 miles. The locks were one of the greatest engineering works ever to be undertaken when they opened in 1914. No other concrete construction of comparable size was undertaken until the Hoover Dam, in the 1930s.

There are two independent transit lanes, since each lock is built double. The size of the original locks limits the maximum size of ships that can transit the canal; this size is known as Panamax. Construction on the Panama Canal expansion project, which included a third set of locks, began in September 2007, finished by May 2016 and began commercial operation on 26 June 2016. The new locks allow transit of larger, New Panamax ships, which have a greater cargo capacity than the previous locks were capable of handling.^[38]

Visitor center in Panama City. Miraflores is the name of one of the three locks that form part of the Panama Canal, and the name of the small lake that separates these locks from the Pedro Miguel Locks upstream. In the Miraflores locks, vessels are lifted 54 feet in two stages, allowing them to transit to or from the Pacific Ocean port of Balboa in Panama City. Ships cross below the Bridge of the Americas, which connects North and South America.

As of 2005, the following schedule was in effect for ship transit through the locks: From 06:00 to 15:15, ships travel from the Pacific toward the Atlantic. From 15:45 to 23:00, ships travel from the Atlantic toward the Pacific. At any other time, travel is permitted in both directions.

A visitors center allows tourists to have a full view of the Miraflores locks operation. Binoculars are recommended to view the Pedro Miguel locks in the distance. As of 2016, admittance for adults to the visitors center costs US$15 (observation terrace) with lower rates for children and senior citizens. Panamanian residents are admitted at US$3 per person. Viewing a transit operation at the centre can take more than 30 minutes. A souvenir shop on the ground level sells related merchandise. The centre closes at 17:00.^[43]

Market in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The Porto Alegre Public Market, in downtown Porto Alegre, Brazil, is the city's oldest public market. It also is an important historic landmark and a well-known meeting point, with many coffee shops and restaurants.

The cornerstone was laid on 29 August 1864, and it was constructed over an earlier and smaller market. Frederico Heydtmann designed the building, but his plan was substantially altered and enlarged. The inauguration took place on 3 October 1869. In 1886, 24 small shops were installed in the inner yard.

In 1912, while undergoing renovation, a fire destroyed all the stalls in the inner area. A second floor was added by 1913. The market suffered from a major flood in 1941, and from additional fires in 1976, 1979 and 2013. In the administration of Telmo Thompson Flores, it ran the risk of being demolished, but the outcry led to the reconsideration of the decision.

In 1990 the City administration organized a multidisciplinary team to develop a Restoration Project, which focused on the following goals:

• Rescue of the aesthetic quality of the building;
• Optimizing supply potentials;
• Creation of spaces of sociability.

The works included a modern structure of steel and glass to cover the large area of the inner yard, regained the visual perception of the inner arcades, renewed the internal circulations, created new living spaces, and deployed network infrastructure needed to handle the daily activities of a large and busy market.

The new cover allowed the integration between the ground floor and second floor. The second floor, where there were offices and public offices before, now has several popular establishments such as restaurants, snack bars, and coffee shops. With the works, the market also expanded its number of shops. The inauguration took place on 19 March 1997.

The Public Market is part of the traditions of the city, mainly for its "Banca 40" (an ice cream parlor), its centenary restaurant Gambrinus and one of the most traditional bars in town, the 101 years old Bar Naval (Navy Bar). There are about 109 shops, selling fresh produce and baked goods, locally raised meats and dairy products, and various other food items and also handcrafted goods. There are over 100,000 items for sale.

On 6 July 2013, the Public Market caught fire again. The fire is believed to have started at 20h30 on the upper floor at the corner of Avenida Borges de Medeiros and Júlio de Castilhos. Recent reports say that no people were injured, but 30% of the structure appeared to have burned down.^[46]

Modern Catholic church completed in 1943. The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a chapel in Pampulha region of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. It was designed by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in the organic modern style. It is the first listed modern architectural monument in Brazil and consists of four undulating concrete parabolas with outdoor mosaics. The interior hosts a mural by Candido Portinari, and the exterior features a landscape designed by Roberto Burle Marx.

The curved lines of the church enchanted artists and architects, but scandalized the city's conservative culture. Despite its completion in 1943 and Juscelino Kubitschek's call for its consecration, the church was not consecrated until 1959. For 14 years, the ecclesiastical authorities, led by Antonio dos Santos Cabral, prohibited the chapel from providing Catholic services.

As of July 2016, the church is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of the Pampulha Modern Ensemble, a collection of Niemeyer buildings in Pampulha.^[49]