Foz do Iguacu Museums and Art Galleries

(Foz do Iguacu, Paraná, Brazil)

Most people generally choose to visit Foz do Iguacu for its breathtaking waterfalls and wonderful National Park, which now ranks as a World Heritage Site. If you are a culture vulture and hoping to check out some museums or galleries during your vacation, then you won't find an awful lot to choose between.

Museums are virtually non-existent in Foz do Iguacu, due to lack of demand and support. The principal venue is the Centro de Visitantes Museu (Visitors Centre Museum), which is located on the Argentinean side of the Iguassu National Park and celebrates the region's rich flora and fauna, as well as its indigenous cultures and crafts.

General Information

Address: Foz do Iguacu, Paraná, Brazil, BR
Located on the Parana River and approximately 14 km / 9 miles to the north of Foz do Iguacu, the Itaipu Dam comes with its very own museum, the Ecomuseu (Eco Museum), where exhibits and displays clearly illustrate the construction of the dam in the 1970s / early 1980s, its hydroelectric design, and its impact on the surrounding environment when it was flooded. The Ecomuseu is completely free to enter and is open from Tuesday to Saturday, between 08:30 and 11:30, and again from 14:00 to 17:30, and on Sunday afternoons between 14:00 and 17:30.

Also worth checking out is the Bertoni Museu (Bertoni Museum), which is best reached by taking a scenic cruise from Foz do Iguacu to the Puerto Bertoni National Park, in nearby Paraguay. Exhibits here explain the life of acclaimed Swiss botanist Moisè Giacomo Bertoni (1857 to 1929), who emigrated to this part of Latin America in 1884, to continue his studies with a large team of some 40 associates.