Architecture is frozen music. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Dazzling architecture inspires a pilgrimage; I’ve previously designed travel to certain destinations around the world solely based on specific architectural wonders— Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Renzo Piano’s Paul Klee Museum in Bern, Switzerland. Casa Luis Barragán in Mexico City. (Ask me for my full list if interested! It continues to grow.)
For many years, the one destination that sat high on my bucket list was Brasília, the capital of Brazil. The city itself was designed in the form of an airplane by a student of the modernist architect Le Corbusier— Lúcio Costa. Together with the world-renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, they designed the city’s central attraction, Three Powers Plaza, which is the square that holds the Executive, Legislative, & Judiciary powers of Brazil.
As dull as government buildings could possibly sound, the edifices in this plaza are anything but! Their architectural significance is a sight to behold when standing in the middle of the square, with all surrounding buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer.
In the same city, Niemeyer also designed the unusual, white-domed National Museum of the Republic; the Cathedral of Brasília, whose spiked roof represents two hands reaching upwards toward heaven (both seen in the photo at the top of this post); and the Palácio da Alvorada, the presidential residence.
2024 marks a special year to visit these architectural gems, as the palace recently re-opened after a decade closed to visitors. The barriers surrounding the presidential offices were also recently removed for the first time since 2013 by current president Lula da Silva, allowing visitors greater access to appreciate the design. And earlier this year, the city was named #32 on the New York Times list of 52 Places to Go in 2024.
If visiting Brasília to experience the full glory of Oscar Niemeyer’s work, stay at the Brasília Palace Hotel, designed by the architect with interiors that will transport you right into the 1960s! It’s a step into mid-century modernist design, not unlike the modernist TWA Hotel in New York’s JFK Airport.
Brasília was first checked off my bucket list in 2011, and I’ve returned numerous times since, my last trip at the invitation of the Brazilian tourism board. For a full cultural itinerary to make the most of a visit to this unique destination, or elsewhere in the beautiful country that is Brazil, contact Wandernest to design a trip to remember!
