Curitiba is one of Brazil’s most underrated cities. Often overlooked in favour of Rio or São Paulo, this southern Brazilian city (and the home of so many capybaras!!) surprised us with its huge amount of green spaces & rich culture. If you’re wondering what to do in Curitiba, this guide covers the best things to do in Curitiba to help you plan the perfect visit.
How to get to Curitiba
The best way to get to Curitiba is via bus. The bus system in South Brazil is super easy and straightforward. You can either buy your tickets at the bus terminal or online beforehand on a site like Busbud.
We love Busbud because we can book our tickets in advance and choose our seats (always the front for the best view!). You can even choose between semi reclining and full reclining which is a bonus. It’s also super useful for timetables and planning.
Remember to check the ticket conditions before purchasing, some tickets you have to print out your ticket or go to a counter before arriving at the bus.
We took the bus from Sao Paulo to Curitiba and it took 6 hours. We also took the bus from Curitiba to Florianopolis and it took 4.5 hours.
Bus Timetables
Iguacu Falls – Curitiba (overnight is best)
Curitiba – Iguacu Falls (overnight is best)
We have helpful articles about these above locations in Brazil as well as a custom South Brazil Itinerary – fully customisable for your preferences! So feel free to check them out to help you plan the perfect trip:
👉🏼 I want to see all your Brazil Articles
👉🏼 Want a personalised route? Check out our custom South Brazil itinerary (1–4 weeks, based on your travel style)
Where to stay in Curitiba
Curitiba is a pretty big city and although you can walk around, its way too big to be able to walk everywhere. This is why we took ubers/the hop on hop off bus wherever we went (read more on that below).
So because of this, I think it doesn’t really matter where you stay in the city, but here are the best places to stay for first-timers.
The Batel district (upscale, dining, nightlife)
💰💰💰 Nomaa Hotel – 5 star boutique hotel with spa, fitness centre & free breakfast
💰💰Full Jazz by Slaviero Hotéis – a music focused hotel in a great location with a great breakfast
💰/💰💰Home Batel – a lovely apartment with gym & pool access in a great area. Perfect if you want an apartment rather than just a room
The Centro Histórico/Rua das Flores area (historic sights, central, budget-friendly) for walkability and access to attractions like the tourist bus
💰Hostel Matilda – offers dorms and private rooms, perfect for those on a budget
How to get around Curitiba
Uber / taxi
Ubers are common & very reasonable (compared to European prices). We used them to get around the city and had no problems at all. We felt safe the whole time although sometimes the traffic was annoying – a lot of the streets are 1 way.
Often you will find that taxis are much more expensive than Uber.
If you are on a one way street, but need to travel in the opposite direction, sometimes it’s a lot faster to walk to a road which heads in the right direction, or get dropped off a block away from where you need to go.
Hop On Hop Off Bus
The most fun way to get around the city is on the hop on hop off bus! Its a great way to see the city if you only have 1 day.
The hop on hop off bus allows for 24 hours of unlimited travel around the city to see all its main attractions.
We actually did a quick calc of whether it would have been cheaper to take ubers to each place that we stopped at, and it was marginally cheaper to take an Uber – but nothing beats an open top bus, it’s just so fun!! If you are a group of more than 2, Uber might be more cost effective.
The cost of the bus was R$ 50 pp (£7 / US $9). We stopped at 5 places on our day and the total cost for ubers at those times would have equalled R$77.72, instead of R$100 for 2, a difference of £3/ US $4).
We have written a full guide on the hop-on hop-off bus, which you can find here: Curitiba Hop-on Hop-off Bus: Complete Guide
Parks in Curitiba
Curitiba is famous for its parks, and it’s easy to see why. The green spaces are a part of daily life here. Most parks even have designated paths for walkers, runners and cyclists meaning you can enjoy whatever activity you are doing without having to be too aware about dangerously bumping into other people.
Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden)
The city’s most recognisable landmark, the Botanical Garden features a glass greenhouse inspired by European design. The park is free to enter and perfect for a morning stroll. The park isn’t too big, so you don’t need much time here but it’s a lovely stop for any day trip
📍Location: Jardim Botânico
💰Cost: Free
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: Yes
Parque Barigui
The best park in the city (in our opinion) mainly because of the lovely lakes and paths and of course the most capybaras we have ever seen!! The capybaras roam freely, you can’t miss them!
📍Location: Parque Barigui
💰Cost: Free
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: Yes
Parque Tanguá
With amazing views from the top of the park, with water fountains and flowers, it’s a lovely stop to explore. You can even see capybaras here too if you’re lucky. Walk down to the bottom of the park, there are trails to the left and the right, and make it a circuit walk back up. In the wet season there is a waterfall at the bottom which is meant to be amazing (we didn’t see it). It’s especially stunning at golden hour.
Find out more about how to see capybaras in Curitiba, including the best spots for likely spottings!
📍Location: Parque Tanguá
💰Cost: Free
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: Yes
Tingui Park
This quieter park is great for spotting birds and walking through treelined paths, away from any views of the city at all.
If you start at the north of the park and follow the path down you will finish at the Memorial Ucraniano which is really interesting & beautiful, and adds to your curiosity about the immigrants to the area throughout history.
📍Location: Parque Tingui
💰Cost: Free
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: Yes
Cultural Attractions in Curitiba
Curitiba has a really strong arts and culture scene. Here are our best shouts for this category:
Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON)
Also known as the “Eye Museum” and you’ll see why when you go! This contemporary art museum is one of the most important cultural institutions in southern Brazil. Some of the installations were a bit weird – think dolls and hair (?) but the rest was amazing and so varied. And that’s just our opinion – maybe you’ll like the dolls and human hair.
The museum entrance (and where to get tickets is down the ramp from the ‘eye’. You will finish the museum in the eye itself.
Check out what’s on on their website: https://www.museuoscarniemeyer.org.br/en-us/visite/programacao
📍Location: MON
💰Cost: Free on Wednesdays, otherwise R$36 pp (£5 / US $6.50)
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: Yes
Ópera de Arame (Wire Opera House)
The striking steel-and-glass structure built over a lake houses and open-air opera house! It would be amazing to go to a performance here and you can look at the upcoming shows here.
Even without a performance it’s nice to walk around. The opera house is located within Rua da Musica which is a ticketed ‘street’ full of music and restaurants. It’s a great spot to relax for an hour or 2 with a meal and a drink
📍Location: Ópera de Arame
💰Cost: Free on Wednesdays, otherwise R$25 pp (£3.5 / US $4.50)
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: Yes
Paço da Liberdade
Located in the historic centre, this beautifully restored building now functions as a cultural centre and café.
📍Location: Paço da Liberdade
💰Cost: Free
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: Yes
Sunday Market
On a Sunday the town square comes alive with foodstalls & people selling everything from souvenirs, artwork, crafts, organic produce and everything in between. One of our favourite things about this market is the capybara shaped food!!
Try the Capybara pastels and a sugar cane juice!
📍Location: Largo da Ordem
💰Cost: Free
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: No – walk from Paco da Liberdade
Curitiba to Morettes Scenic Train
This was one of our favourite train journeys ever. This trip either from Curitiba to Morettes or in reverse takes you through the Atlantic Forest with amazing views like you are flying through the forest!
You can pick the train journey option only – good if you are staying in Morettes or nearby and want a fun way to reach your destination.
Or you can book a package which includes a train ride in one direction, a van ride in the other, snacks, a guide, lunch, a tour in Morettes & Antonina and more!
Check out our experience & review with Serra Verde Express for our thoughts and how you can book it too!
📍Location: Serra Verde Express
💰Cost: Depends on your package – tickets only from R$199 (£27 / US $36), complete tours from R$ 455 pp (£62 / US $82)
🚌Hop On Hop Off Bus Stop: No
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