FLORIANOPÓLIS OLD CITY CENTER

In the Praça da Alfândega and Rua Conselheiro Mafra (the first street in the downtown area across from the main bus terminal) is the Old Customs House (9 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Mon.–Fri. and 9 a.m.–noon on Sat.), which today houses a gallery of artists from Santa Catarina, arts and crafts stores, and a simple bar. It was built in 1876 to be the new customs house. Across the street is the Mercado Publico Municipal (9 a.m.–10 p.m. Mon.–Fri. and 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Sat.), built in 1898 as a new public marketplace (the old one was located in front of the Matriz church and was demolished in 1896). The Mercado has 140 stands, featuring bars, fish and meat markets, arts and crafts, herbs, clothing—you name it. The highlight is Box 32, a famous meeting place for locals and visitors and a great place to have a draft beer and oysters. Get there just before happy hour, when the place fills up with activity. If you get into the habit of drinking chá matte while you’re in the south of Brazil, you can find it in bulk in the Mercado. (Sadly, the Mercado burned almost to the ground in August 2005. The new, third version of the building should be up and running again by the end of 2006.)

At the end of Rua Conselheiro Mafra is the city’s old town square, Praça XV de Novembro. It was here that the old village of Florianópolis began and many of the original buildings line the sides of the praça. Most are beautifully restored, along with the historical buildings in the pedestrian marketplace along Rua Felipe Schmidt and its many cross streets. In the middle of the praça is a large and majestic fig tree at well over 100 years old. Walking around the tree seven times is supposed to bring fortune in love and money. At the top of the praça is the striking facade of the Catedral Metropolitana. The church was built on top of an older church, which was built on top of another, older church . . . all originating from a chapel that was erected here in 1675 by a São Paulo bandeirante. Inside the church is an interesting, life-sized sculpture of the holy family fleeing to Egypt. There is also a pipe organ of German origin from 1924 and some stained-glass images. The facade of the church is most beautiful at night when it’s lit from within. On the side of the praça stands the old Palácio Cruz e Souza (10 a.m.–6 p.m. Tues.–Fri. and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. weekends), built in 1770 as the governor’s headquarters. It’s a mixture of neoclassic and baroque architecture and today houses the Museu Historica de Santa Catarina, which presents a series of artifacts and documents from past governors who where headquartered here. Most impressive, for sure, is the building itself.

The Bridge
Once bridging the two halves of the city of Florianópolis, the Hercílio Luz Bridge stands as one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, at 820 meters. Finished in 1926, the bridge was financed by U.S. banks and designed by American and Brazilian engineers. It was paid off in 1978 only four years before it was condemned and closed down. Today, it is mostly a visual element at the entrance to the city and for the various hotels and bars that have views of the bay.

The Beira Mar
If you cut across town on Avenida Otto Gama D’eca, you’ll end up at Avenida Beira Mar, looking out at the North Bay of Florianópolis. This is a kind of Gold Coast of the city and if you turn right and continue walking, you’ll pass some of the city’s best restaurants and waterfront hotels. There are a few bars here, where much of the downtown nightlife occurs. If you’re walking past here during the day, be sure to stop at Fruto da Ilha for an all-natural juice and snack. At the far end of town to the right is the Beira Mar Shopping Center, the city’s best mall. On the left side of Avenida Beira Mar, you’ll find a pier, where you can take boat excursions up the North Bay. Around the pier is a park and restaurant.