7 Brazilian Museums to Explore

The Pinacotheca is a national treasure,  holding some of the most highly-regarded Brazilian art of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is also the oldest art gallery in the city of São Paulo, being founded as a private gallery in 1905 and established as a state museum in 1911.

Not far away is the forward-thinking MASP. Founded in 1947, today it is one of the most important collections in the southern hemisphere. Its iconic, free-floating display offers visitors an unprecedented view of the art on exhibition, making it a must-see museum.

Located in the 17th-century Monastery of Luz, São Paulo, the Museum of Sacred Art collects and documents the extravagant and enchanting art of Catholic devotion, ranging from the paintings and statues of the earliest years of the Portuguese conquest, to those of the present day.

In the 20th Century, Brazil was a hotbed of architectural experimentation. In the city of Curitiba, the space-age Oscar Niemeyer Museum is dedicated to the eponymous modernist architect, and the wider history of Brazilian and Latin American visual arts, design, and urbanism.

Continuing the culture of radical constructions are architects such as  Santiago Calatrava, who designed the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro. Opened in 2015, visitors take a journey through five interactive exhibits: Cosmos, Earth, Anthropocene, Tomorrow, and Us.

Located in the historic centre of Rio de Janeiro, the National Museum of Fine Arts is a descendent of the Portuguese royal collection. As such, it's one of the best examples of European paintings, drawings, and etchings in Brazil, comprising over 20,000 works.

Of course, there's one thing above all that Brazil is known for: football. Inside the grounds of the Estádio Paulo Machado de Carvalho is the Museum of Football. It tells a thrilling history of the beautiful game, and helps explain why football is the true national religion.