| Southwest
of Avenida Afonso Pena, behind the grand public buildings, are the hilly
tree-lined roads of Funcionários, a neighbourhood – as the name
suggests – dominated by government offices of all sorts. The district
also contains the Catedral da Boa Viagem, Rua Alagoas (Mon &
Tues, Thurs–Sat 7–11am & 3–8pm, Wed 7am–8pm, Sun and holidays
7am–noon & 3–8pm), inaugurated in 1922 to mark the centenary of
Brazilian independence. For a cathedral of a major city, the neo-Gothic
structure is surprisingly small and plain, but the grounds are beautiful. |
|
| A
short walk southeast of the cathedral is the impressive, Neoclassical Museu
Mineiro, Av. João Pinheiro 342 (Tues–Fri 11.30am–6.30pm, Sat, Sun
& holidays 10am–4pm), one of the first buildings in Belo Horizonte,
dating from 1897. The building served as the state Senate from 1905 to
1930, only being converted for use as a museum much later, and today
houses an unremarkable sample of the tradition of religious art in Minas.
One block east from Avenida João Pinheiro is the steep Rua da Bahia where
at no. 1149 you’ll find the Centro de Cultura Belo Horizonte
(daily 10am–8.30pm; free), a curious neo-Gothic structure that was
constructed in 1914 as the city’s legislative assembly. The inside of
the building, with its wood panelling and sweeping staircase, is worth a
look, and there are often small exhibitions or concerts going on. One
block down the road, the shocking-pink and blue Hotel Metrópole is
one of the purest surviving examples of Art Deco in the city. |