Brasilia Museums

(Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil)

Although Brasilia may not boast the array of major museums and cultural offerings that you might expect in a capital city, it is home to some interesting themed exhibitions. The Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil is an especially popular venue and features a selection of art works, while the Museu de Valores (Brasilia Monetary Museum) documents the history of currency in Brazil.

Part of the Complexo Cultural da Republica (Cultural Complex of the Republic), along with the simply huge National Library (Biblioteca Nacional), the Museu Nacional is not to be missed. Found just a short distance to the east of cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana), the dramatic dome-shaped architecture of the Brazilian National Museum makes something of a modernist statement.

Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - CCBB (Cultural Centre)

Address: SCES Trecho 2, Conjunto 22, Brasilia, Planalto Central, Brazil, BR
Tel +55 061 3310 7087
The Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil hosts a variety of changing exhibitions, displays, movie screenings, theatrical performances, festivals and cultural events. This venue serves the city as an important contemporary museum and is located within the South Sports Club Sector. There are two main gallery spaces, together with a cinema showing independent films, a well-stocked bookstore and a cafe. If you wish to pay a visit to the CCBB, you may like to catch one of the regular buses which collect passengers from the Hotel Nacional.
Open hours: Tuesday to Sunday - 10:00 to 21:00
Admission: free, charge for some events

Monetário Museu / Museu de Valores (Monetary Museum / Museum of Money of the Central Bank)

Address: Edificio Sede do Banco Central, SBS Quadra 03, Bloco B, Brasilia, Planalto Central, Brazil, BR
Tel +55 061 3414 2093
Owned and managed by the Central Bank of Brazil, the Monetário Museu contains everything that you could possibly imagine relating to the currency of Brazil - the Real R$. As well as being called home by an assortment of rare coins and historic money printing machinery, the Monetary Museum also displays paper money from numerous international countries. Interestingly, it is here where the largest gold nugget ever excavated in Brazil is located, weighing in at an impressive 60 kg.
Open hours: Tuesday to Friday - 10:00 to 17:30, Saturday - 14:00 to 18:00
Admission: free

Museu Nacional (Brazilian National Museum)

Address: Complexo Cultural da Republica, Eixo Monumental (Monumental Axis), Brasilia, Planalto Central, Brazil, BR
The National Museum of Brasilia was designed to house significant national and international exhibitions, and was inaugurated in 1960. As you step inside you will immediately notice that the upper floor appears to be suspended from above. The total exhibition space covers some 14,500 square metres / 156,000 square feet, while there are also two large auditoriums which seat just under 800 people each.
Open hours: Tuesday to Sunday - 09:00 to 17:00
Admission: free

Museu da Imprensa (National Press Museum)

Address: SIG Quadra 06, Lote 800, Brasilia, Planalto Central, Brazil, BR
Tel +55 061 3441 9618
Established in the early 1980s and filled with rare Brazilian documents of national importance, the Museu da Imprensa is located in the grounds of the National Press and has a rich collection of printing memorabilia, including the country's first ever printed newspaper - the 1891 Constituicao (Constitution). Particularly significant is the example of a 'Prelo Machado de Assis' machine, an English printing machine manufactured in 1833, which is actually only one of three still in existence, anywhere in the world.
Open hours: Monday to Friday - 08:00 to 18:00
Admission: free

Museu Postale Telegrafico da ECT (Postal and Telegraphic Museum)

Address: Edificio Apolo, SCS Quadra 04, Bloco A - Zona 0, Brasilia, Planalto Central, Brazil, BR
Tel +55 061 217 2614
Founded in 1980 in a successful attempt to both promote and preserve stamps used by Brazil's Post Office, the Museu Postale Telegrafico da ECT has lead something of a chequered history, since it was closed to the public in 2001. One year later, the innumerable philately collections were relocated to the Brasilia Post Office University, in the South Commercial Sector, and its future restored. The Postal and Telegraphic Museum displays Brazilian stamps of all ages and is spread over a series of themed floors.
Open hours: Tuesday to Friday - 09:00 to 18:00, Saturday - 09:00 to 13:00
Admission: free

Museu Nacional de Gemas (National Museum of Gems)

Address: Torre de Televisao / TV, Eixo Monumental, Brasilia, Planalto Central, Brazil, BR
Tel +55 061 3323 1881
Containing a large and notable collection of gemstones originating from throughout Brazil, the Museu Nacional de Gemas was founded in the middle of the 1990s. Now home to in excess of 3,000 gems, many of which have been polished, the National Museum of Gems uses multiple fiberoptics to illuminate its displays. Countless valuable stones are housed here, including prized diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires, amongst others. Those wishing to pay a visit to the Museu Nacional de Gemas will find this glittering attraction located on the 25th floor of the Television Tower, where cityscape panoramas are quite distracting.
Open hours: Monday to Friday - 10:00 to 18:00, Saturday - 10:00 to 16:00
Admission: charge

Juscelino Kubitschek Memorial / JK Memorial and Museum

Address: Eixo Monumental / Praca do Cruzeiro, Brasilia, Planalto Central, Brazil, BR
Tel +55 061 226 7860
Built and unveiled in 1980 in order to honour the official founder of the city of Brasilia, Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (1902 to 1976), the centrally located JK Memorial and Museum dominates the Eixo Monumental Oeste and invokes much pride in the city. The memorial itself ranks as one of the most visited of all the city's cultural attractions. This futuristic building is easy to spot, since outside is a towering column, topped by a crescent shape supporting a statue of JK himself. On display are many of the president's former belongings, together with a number of photographs and plans of the city's original layout.
Open hours: Monday to Friday - 10:00 to 18:00, Saturday - 10:00 to 16:00
Admission: free