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Wide avenues, shady parks and one of Brazil's largest collections of Art Deco buildings set Goiânia apart from most cities in the country's interior. The capital of Goiás was planned from scratch in the 1930s on the high plains of the Cerrado, and it has grown into a green, prosperous city of about 1.4 million people, known for its country music, generous food and relaxed pace.
Governor Pedro Ludovico Teixeira laid the cornerstone in 1933 to replace the old colonial capital, Cidade de Goiás, and urban planner Attílio Corrêa Lima designed a radial centre around Praça Cívica. The Art Deco core around the square, with its theatre, palaces and museum, is protected as national heritage, while later neighbourhoods filled with lakeside parks and high-rises.
Visitors come for the Sunday Feira Hippie, the parks, Niemeyer's cultural centre and a table of pequi rice, pamonha and empadão goiano. Goiânia is also the natural base for trips to the colonial towns of Pirenópolis and Cidade de Goiás, and Brasília is about a three-hour drive away.
Officially Praça Doutor Pedro Ludovico Teixeira, this broad square is where the planned city began, and its main avenues still radiate outward. Art Deco buildings from the 1930s and 1940s line it, including the Palácio das Esmeraldas. Come in the morning, when the light is soft.
This bronze group by sculptor Neusa Morais stands on Praça Cívica and shows three figures for the Indigenous, African and European peoples who formed Brazil. Unveiled in the late 1960s, it is one of the best-known images of Goiânia. A short look fits easily into a walk around the square.
Dedicated to Our Lady Help of Christians, the city's cathedral stands in the central sector a short walk from Praça Cívica, its white clock tower rising among palm trees. Inside, round stained-glass windows light the nave, and it hosts the city's biggest religious feasts. Dress modestly for Mass.
Designed by architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha and opened in 1975, this vast concrete stadium hosts the top football matches in Goiás, including derbies between the leading local clubs. Its sweeping curved stands are classic Brazilian modernism. Go on a match day and buy tickets from official sources.
Inaugurated in the early 1940s, this theatre is one of the finest examples of the Art Deco style that defines central Goiânia, and it belongs to the protected heritage ensemble. Its curved façade still announces plays, concerts and dance, so check the programme and see the interior during a show.
Facing Praça Cívica from an Art Deco building, the state museum tells the story of Goiás through Indigenous artefacts, sacred art, folk crafts, documents and natural history. It is named after the historian and naturalist who helped create it. Allow about an hour and combine it with the square.
Opened in 2006 and designed by the architect of Brasília, this complex sets bold white and red buildings on a vast open esplanade. It holds a contemporary art museum, a library, a human rights monument and a music hall for concerts and fairs. Bring sun protection, as the plaza has little shade.
Facing Praça do Trabalhador, the former railway station is one of the most admired Art Deco buildings in the city, with clean geometric lines. Inside are murals by the Italian-born friar and painter Nazareno Confaloni. On Sundays the square around it fills with the stalls of the huge Feira Hippie.
Near Praça Cívica, this wooded park is named after the tall buriti palms that grow around its ponds and springs. Paths wind under native Cerrado trees, and the grounds hold the Museu de Arte de Goiânia, with regional painting and sculpture. It is one of the city's oldest and coolest green spaces.
In upscale Setor Bueno, this park circles a lake with a busy walking and running track, framed by the high-rise towers that shape modern Goiânia's skyline. Locals come at sunrise and late afternoon to exercise, with cafés and a large mall close by. Weekday evenings show city life at its liveliest.
One of the earliest parks of the planned city, Lago das Rosas in Setor Oeste wraps around a lake with shady paths and old trees. It is also home to the Goiânia Zoo, where children can see many species native to Brazil. Mornings are the most comfortable time for a stroll in the hot months.
In the Jardim Goiás district, this modern park links lakes, footpaths, play areas and open lawns between residential towers and the Flamboyant shopping centre. Families come for picnics and evening walks, and waterbirds feed along the grassy banks. It makes an easy stop before or after shopping.
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