Curitiba Museums

(Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil)

The museums of Curitiba really are quite special and many visitors to the city are surprised by their quality, size and variety. One to look out for its the Museu Paranaense (Paranaense Museum), which resides within the Alto Sao Francisco area, on the Rua Kellers and within the Palacio Sao Francisco, where it is dedicated to Paraná arts and history.

The Museu do Expedicionário (Curitiba Museum of Expeditionary) is another popular choice and remembers Brazilian history from the Second World War period, showing how the country became involved in the fight against Germany in the early 1940s. For families in Curitiba, both the Museu da Imagem e do Som (Image and Sound) and the Museu de História Natural (Natural History) are safe bets and sure to please, while for car-enthusiast dads, the Museu do Automóvel (Automobile Museum) really is a must.

Museu Paranaense (Paranaense Museum)

Address: Rua Kellers 289, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, BR
Tel: +55 041 3304 3300
Housing a large and important collection of more than 250,000 individual pieces, the Paranaense Museum was established as far back as 1876 and is today called home by everything from Indian relics and valuable coins, to preserved collections of birds, butterflies and insects. The timeline in the pavilion transports visitors along a journey to the present day, starting some 8,000 years ago.
Open hours: Tuesday to Friday - 09:30 to 17:30, Saturday and Sunday - 11:00 to 15:00
Admission: free

Museu do Expedicionário (Museum of Expeditionary)

Address: Praca do Expedicionário, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, BR
Tel: +55 041 3362 8231
Created in 1946 and spread over two floors, the Museu do Expedicionário is made up of a series of different exhibitions, which concentrate on the Forca Expedicionária Brasileira - FEB (Brazilian Expeditionary Force), the Forca Aérea Brasileira - FAB (Brazilian Air Force) and the Marinha de Guerra do Brasil (Navy of Brazil), as well as the roles of nurses and allied troops. Expect to find all manner of weaponry displays, uniforms and used ammunition.
Open hours: Monday to Friday - 10:00 to 12:00, 13:00 to 17:00
Admission: free

Museu da Imagem e do Som - MIS (Image and Sound Museum)

Address: Rua Barao do Rio Branco 395, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, BR
Tel: +55 041 3351 6682
Opened in the late 1960s and recently thoroughly revamped and modernised, the Museu da Imagem e do Som stands in the 19th-century Palacio da Liberdade, formerly Palacio do Governo (Government Palace), on the Rua Barao do Rio Branco, where it is dedicated to the world of cinema and photography. Over the years the collection has grown greatly in both size and quality and now boasts a staggering one million+ images, along with literally thousands of films, recordings, publications, documents and oral history exhibits.
Open hours: Monday to Friday - 09:00 to 17:00
Admission: free

Museu de História Natural (Natural History Museum)

Address: Benedito Conceicao 407, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, BR
Tel: +55 041 3366 3133
The Museu de História Natural specialises in native Brazilian botany, biology and local ecosystems, and is located in the Capao da Imbuia (Forest of Imbuia Capon). Visitors will discover a number of dioramas depicting natural scenes, with stuffed animals in various poses. Outside is the Caminho das Araucarias (Araucarias Pathway), which leads you along an elevated walkway and to a small remaining part of the Araucaria Forest, complete with display panels and viewing points.
Open hours: Tuesday to Sunday - 09:00 to 17:30
Admission: free

Museu Ferroviário (Railroad Museum)

Address: Avenida Sete de Setembro 2775, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, BR
The Museu Ferroviário (Railroad Museum) enjoys a particularly apt setting, since it is situated in Curitiba's former train station, on the Avenida Sete de Setembro. Much of this old station has been fully restored to its former glory, so that visitors can easily imagine how it once functioned. Displays include numerous bells, documents, furnishings, maps, telephones and whistles, while there are plenty of hands-on displays that you can interact with. And when you've finished learning about Paraná's railroad history, you can head next-door to the adjoining shopping mall - Estacao.
Open hours: Tuesday to Friday - 10:00 to 17:00
Admission: free

Museu do Automóvel (Automobile Museum)

Address: Avenida Candido Hartmann 2300, Parque Barigui, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, BR
Tel: +55 041 3335 1440
Established in 1969 as the Clube de Automoveis e Antiguidades Mecanicas do Paraná - CAAMP (Automobile Club of Paraná and Mechanical Antiques), the Museu do Automóvel initially resided in the Parolin district, relocating to its present site in the Parque Barigui several years later, in the mid-1970s. The Automobile Museum contains a large and impressive array of some 150 vintage vehicles, with the collection being regularly rotated so that around 80 cars are on exhibit at any one time. Highlights include a 1926 Ford T, Chevrolets from the 1930s and 1940s, and a glamorous Cadillac Presidencial from 1952. If you plan to visit the Museu do Automóvel, be sure to leave time to check out the Parque Barigui and its endless wildlife, which includes both skunks and wild guinea pigs.
Open hours: Tuesday to Friday - 14:00 to 17:00, Saturday and Sunday - 11:00 to 12:00, 14:00 to 17:30
Admission: free

Museu Botanico de Curitiba (Botanical Museum)

Address: Jardim Botanico, Rua Engenheiro Ostoja Roguski, Bairro do Jardim Botanico, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, BR
Tel: +55 041 3362 1800
Located in the city's Botanical Gardens (Jardim Botanico), the Museu Botanico dates from the middle of the 1960s, moving to the gardens in 1992. The Botanical Museum has gained something of an international reputation and has become known for its enormous herbarium, which is the biggest of its kind in the whole of Brazil and is home to more than 300,000 plants.
Open hours: Monday to Friday - 08:00 to 12:00, 13:00 to 17:00, Saturday and Sunday - 08:00 to 18:00
Admission: free