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"15 Must-See Rio de Janeiro Landmarks\nAD rounds up the top architectural attractions in Brazil\u2019s most captivating city \nAlthough most people associate Rio de Janeiro with the beach and gorgeous natural vistas, it is also home to a rich collection of architectural landmarks such as centuries-old colonial churches and government buildings, architect Oscar Niemeyer\u2019s futuristic masterpieces, and and the iconic tropical gardens and verdant parks by landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx. Taken together they create an entirelynew way to see the city. The options can be overwhelming, so we\u2019ve narrowed it down to the 15 essential landmarks to see here.\\n\\nThe statue of Cristo Redentor sits on the peak of the 700-meter Corcovado Mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park, which overlooks the city. Designed by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, it\u2019s made of soapstone and reinforced concrete and was completed in 1931 after nine years of construction. In 2007, it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.\nBuilt in the 1920s as a private mansion for shipbuilder Henrique Lage and his Italian-singer wife, Gabriela Benzanzoni, Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage is now home to a visual-arts school.\nCompleted in 1996, when its architect, Oscar Niemeyer, was 89, the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum is a playground of curvaceous lines, from the serpentine red path leading to the entrance to its three-story cupola. Recognized by its saucer-like shape, it overlooks Boa Viagem (bon voyage), a nearly 9,000-square-foot reflecting pool that surrounds the base of the museum.\nThe Teatro Popular in Niteroi is part of an assemblage of buildings designed by late Brazilian wunderkind Oscar Niemeyer. Made of reinforced concrete, the buildings highlight many of Niemeyer\u2019s signature designs, from swooping curves to spiral staircases. The theater has a capacity of 460 seats, but an open square has room for 20,000 more. In addition to theater, the building is home to a variety of arts programs, from dance to photography as well as workshops and artist residencies.\nThe Museu Casa de Benjamin Constant is the former residence of politician and military officer Benjamin Constant and contains his original furniture and personal belongings, as well as beautiful gardens overlooking the neighborhood of Santa Teresa.\nOne of the best examples of Brazilian colonial architecture, Mosteiro de S\u00E3o Bento was completed in 1671 and remains an abbey today. Though its exterior is rather plain, featuring two pyramid-topped towers, the interior of the church is ornately gilded.\nThe concrete Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro in Flamengo Park was designed by Affonso Eduardo Reidy and completed in 1955. There are sharply angled external pillars and large windows that overlook the gardens, designed by Roberto Burle Marx.\nCompleted in 1889 by engineer Adolfo del Vecchio, Ilha Fiscal is a neo-Gothic, lime-green palace on Guanabara Bay and reminiscent of something out of a fairy tale. Originally built to house the operations of the port, the building is now home to a museum of cultural history and overseen by the Brazilian navy.\nA Catholic church built atop a cliff in 1728, Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Penha offers some of the best views of Rio. Getting to the top requires either climbing 382 steps or taking a free tram.\nConsidered by many as the preeminent luxury hotel in South America, the Art Deco Copacabana Palace Hotel was another landmark designed by Joseph Gire and completed in 1923. The hotel played a starring role (along with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) in the movie Flying Down to Rio.\nNow home to the Ministries of Education, Health and Culture, the 15-story Palacio Gustavo Capanema almost appears to float, its base held upon three-meter-high columns. Completed in 1943, it\u2019s considered one of the best examples of Brazilian modernist architecture. Led by Lucio Costa (who would go on to design the future capital city of Brasil\u00EDa), the team included a young Oscar Niemeyer and legendary Swiss-French modernist Le Corbusier, who helped oversee the project, adding his signature brise-soleils.\nConstructed between 1964 and 1979, the Catedral Metropolitana de S\u00E3o Sebasti\u00E4o is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Rio\u2014a modernist incarnation of Mayan pyramids designed by Edgar Fonseca. Sometimes referred to as the New Cathedral, it features four rectangular stained-glass windows that soar 210 feet from floor to ceiling.\nOscar Niemeyer designed Casa das Canoas as a private home for himself\u2014completed in 1951\u2014and features plenty of curved lines and glass walls. Niemeyer and his family lived here until 1965.\nThe Carioca Aqueduct was built to carry fresh water from the Carioca River to the city. Inaugurated in 1750, the aqueduct was deactivated by the end of the 19th century, and though it no longer carries water, it has added a more contemporary function as the track on which the Santa Teresa Tramway runs, connecting commuters from the uphill Santa Teresa neighborhood to the city center.\nThe largest library in Latin America (and the seventh largest in the world), the Biblioteca Nacional carries around nine million volumes. The ornate interiors rival those of the city\u2019s opulent homes and hotels."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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