Praça Tiradentes and Curitiba's Historic Sector

A central hub of traffic and activity in the city, Praça Tiradentes is the starting point for the Linha Turismo city tour (and where you can purchase tickets). It is flanked on one side by the Catedral Metropolitana, a neo-gothic church built in 1883 (worth a look inside), and on the other side by the flower merchants of Curitiba. Just past the flower merchants is the Museu Paranaense, which is an interesting, historical building with a moderately interesting museum inside.

If you walk past the Catedral along Rua Barão do Cerro Azul (it’s nearly impossible to know which direction you’re walking because none of the Curitiba city maps includes direction indicators), you’ll come to the foot of the historic sector of town at the intersection with Rua São Francisco. Turn left up São Francisco to pass the Largo do Ordem, where much of the city’s nightlife occurs and where the Curitiba Memorial is located. The highlight at the Memorial is the trippy, free-standing spiral staircase in the middle. You can climb to the top for a view. The Memorial occasionally presents cultural events, art exhibitions, and it houses documents from the city’s history. Continue past the Largo do Ordem to reach Praça Geribaldi, where you’ll find several historic buildings, including the Igreja do Rosário. At the far end of the praça are the Ruinas de São Francisco and beyond that, the Museu de Arte do Paraná.