Niterói, Oscar Niemeyer's MAC & the View Back Across Guanabara Bay
Niterói (the city of 500,000 inhabitants directly across Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro, accessible by ferry from the Praça XV terminal in 20 minutes — the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro until 1975) is the location of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói (MAC Niterói, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, completed 1996 — one of the most celebrated buildings of the late 20th century and Niemeyer's own favourite among his works): a flying-saucer-shaped white structure cantilevered from a single 9-metre concrete column on the edge of a cliff above the bay.
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MAC Niterói — Oscar Niemeyer's Flying Saucer on the Bay
The Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói (MAC, Mirante da Boa Viagem, Niterói, 1996, Oscar Niemeyer, R$20 entry, Tuesday–Sunday 10am–6pm, accessible by ferry from Praça XV in 20 minutes) is Niemeyer's most internationally recognized building after Brasília — the 16m-diameter disc (sitting on a 9m cylindrical base, cantilevered 9m over the edge of the cliff above Guanabara Bay, the Red Path — a circular ramp — spiraling up to the disc entrance) commands a 360° view of the bay, Corcovado, and the Rio skyline; the interior collection of contemporary Brazilian art is secondary to the architecture.
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Niterói City — Beyond the Museum
Niterói (the municipality across Guanabara Bay from Rio, 500,000 population, accessed by ferry in 20 minutes from Praça XV — the most elegant approach — or by Ponte Presidente Costa e Silva/Rio-Niterói bridge, 13.3km, 30 minutes by bus) is a complete mid-sized Brazilian city often overlooked by Rio visitors — the Caminho Niemeyer (the Niemeyer Way, the urbanistic project along the Niterói waterfront featuring the MAC, the Fundação Oscar Niemeyer, the Theater of Niterói/TeatroPopular Oscar Niemeyer, and the Museu do Cinema Niterói) is the framework for a half-day cultural visit.
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Praias Oceânicas de Niterói — Itacoatiara and Itaipu
Niterói's ocean beaches (on the Atlantic face of the Penha Peninsula, 30–40 minutes from the Niterói ferry terminal by local bus) are among the finest in the metropolitan area — Itacoatiara Beach (the most scenic: rocky headlands, consistent surf 1–2m, surrounded by Atlantic forest, a consistent winner in 'most beautiful beach near Rio' rankings) and Itaipu (calmer waters, surfing school, the site of the Saquarema lagoon access) are the main options; neither is accessible by Metro, but the bus journey (R$3.80) through Niterói's neighbourhoods is itself interesting.
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Oscar Niemeyer Walk — Latin America's Most Concentrated Modernist Ensemble
The Caminho Niemeyer (the waterfront cultural walk in Niterói, planned 1997, partially completed) brings together Niemeyer's MAC, the Memorial da América Latina-style Memorial of Niterói (under construction), the PopularTheater (2007, the 2,500-seat shell-form theater on the waterfront), and the Museum of Contemporary Art Museum — the buildings are connected by the seafront promenade with views of Rio across the bay; the combination of the MAC, the theater, and the waterfront park makes Niterói the most concentrated ensemble of Niemeyer buildings in a single urban location.
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Baía de Guanabara — The World's Most Beautiful Bay (and Its Pollution)
Guanabara Bay (the estuary on which Rio de Janeiro is built, 381 km², 130 islands, the largest bay in the Southern Hemisphere and the most famous bay in the world) is also one of the most polluted — 70% of the wastewater from the 9 million people living around the bay is discharged without treatment; the 2016 Olympics sailing events in the bay attracted international attention to the pollution crisis; recovery projects have planted 3 million mangrove seedlings and improved wastewater treatment in certain zones; the bay's aesthetic beauty (the granite sugarloaf formations, the Islands of Paquetá) remains extraordinary.
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Paquetá Island — The Car-Free Ilha within the Bay
Ilha de Paquetá (the island in the north of Guanabara Bay, 2km² car-free island, 4,000 permanent residents, accessible by ferry from Praça XV — the public ferry, R$7.50, 1h20min or the fast boat R$32, 55 minutes) is Rio's most complete urban escape — the island's transport is by bicycle (rental R$10/hour at the dock), horse cart, or on foot; the beaches (Praia do Moreninho, Praia da Saudade) face away from Rio across the bay; the colonial buildings (19th-century imperial-era summer houses), the mango trees lining the main street, and the absence of cars make Paquetá feel like a different city.