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Hosts the city council.
The Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro is the unicameral legislative body of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was founded in 1565 by the Portuguese colonists.
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Teatro Municipal
City Theatre, inspired by the Paris Opéra House.
Biblioteca Nacional
The National Library offers guided tours on weekdays, showing visitors its rare collection, various bookstacks and the catalogue system. Registration with identification is required, and tours run for about an hour. They leave at 13:00 for English tours, and 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 for Portuguese tours.
Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
Another building modelled on one in Paris, this time the Louvre. Includes large paintings from Academicist and Neoclassical Brazilian artists, as well as many copies of European sculptures
The headquarters for the federal gas (petrol) company is an interesting piece of brutalist architecture which somehow resembles a Rubik's Cube with some blocks missing.
Palácio Gustavo Capanema
Former ministry of culture, designed by French architect Le Corbusier; though small, it is regarded as an important pioneering work in modern architecture.
Commissioned in 1779, this was to become the first public park in the Americas. Check out the original Rococo-style gate and the ironwork fountains.