Mirante da Boa Viagem | Niterói
The museum is closed for renovation, scheduled to open in May 2016. However, there is not much in terms of a collection. The architecture itself is the attraction.
Jutting out from the rocks by the sea like a spaceship, MAC is an impressive contemporary art museum, designed by world-famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. Located at Mirante da Boa Viagem, in Niterói, Rio’s neighbor city, it boasts breathtaking views from Baía de Guanabara. The building itself is well worth a visit: it is sustained only by its cylindrical base rising from a water mirror in the patio. Or a “flower emerging from the rocks” as Niemeyer poetically preferred to describe it. The museum displays temporary exhibitions, but has a small permanent collection. But the competition with the scenario outside the panoramic windows is hard to beat. At the underground level, Bistrô MAC has a diverse contemporary international menu and also serves on weekends a breakfast buffet.
Image by Elder Vieira Salles | Shutterstock
