.

TravelTips24 : Goias : Goiania

Goiania

Goiânia, the capital of Goiás, is a mid-sized city in central Brazil.

Culture and History

One of several major planned cities, Goiânia was founded in 1933. The city plan is generally radial, with Avenida Goiás running north-south and intersecting Aveinida Anhanguera at the center. It was planned for about 50,000 inhabitants, but as of 2005 it has over 1 million.

Travel to Goiania & Visa Requirements

By air

Good air service. Non-Stop flights from Sao Paulo - 1 hour 20 minutes flight time. From Goiânia, there are numerous flights per day to other cities in Brazil, either through Sao Paulo or Brasilia.

Buses to Goiania

Goiânia has a very good bus station at Praça do Trabalhador, (worker's square), which connects it to any other place in Brazil. So, taking a bus to or from Goiânia will not be a big problem. If you visit Brasilia, which is 3 hours away by bus (R$35 - conventional bus [approximetely 20 US dollars]) it's even easier to visit. The bus station is on the northern side, about 1km from the central district. The bus terminal shares its location with a major shopping mall.

Tours & Getting around Goiania

For International Visitors, taxis are you best option. Fares run around R$20.00 (US$10.00) or less for most rides within the central area of the city

Goiania attractions and sightseeing

During the day, there really isn't much to be seen in Goiânia... it's most like the urban center of a young region. There are a couple of parks you can visit, shoppings and commercial streets.

At the night scenery, you'll find many bars, pubs and night clubs filled with young people. Each of these is attended by very well defined social classes. At the Praça Universitária (universities square) you can find an environment less dedicated to any social class.

Goiania city tours

Parks

  • Bosque dos Buritis, west of the city center. The city's main public park, with a small art museum on the grounds.
  • Parque Mutirama, northeast from the center at the end of Avenida Araguaia. Larger than Buritis, with walking trails and hilly terrain.
  • Parque Vaca Brava, at the rich region of "Setor Bueno", this park is in front of Goiânia Shopping and offers a jogging track around a small lake. From 5PM to 8PM it's quite full of people making daily exercises.
  • Parque Areião
  • Horto-Florestal de Goiânia (Jardim Zoológico - Zoo)

Goiania souvenirs & shopping

  • Feira Hippie (Hippie Fair) (open-air market) on weekends; Saturdays on Av. Goiás and Sundays by the bus station. At rua 3 and rua 4 you can find lots of used books, CDs or LPs stores (called Sebos). It's not as big as the São Paulo's sebos, but usually, it's possible to find quite rare peaces at a very good price.

Shopping centers

  • Shopping Flamboyant The biggest and most famous shopping in Goiânia. It has commercial cinemas and a wide range of stores. Av. Jamel Cecílio, nº 3.300 - Jardim Goiás - Goiânia - GO - CEP 74810-907 Phone: +55 (62) 3546-2000 [www.flamboyant.com.br]
  • Goiânia Shopping An shopping with style in Goiânia. Av. T-10, nº 1.300 - Setor Bueno - Goiânia - GO - CEP 74223-060 +55 (62) 3237-0500 [www.goianiashop.com.br]
  • Araguaia Shopping 44 Street, nº 399 - Setor Central - Goiânia - GO - CEP 74063-010. +55 (62) 3243-4400 [www.araguaiashopping.com.br] - Located in main bus station complex.
  • Buriti Shopping A popular shopping mall in Goiânia. It's located quite far from the old and new center. Av. Rio Verde, Qd. 102/104 - Vila São Tomaz - Aparecida de Goiânia - GO - CEP 74916-260. +55 (62) 3239-0707 [www.buritishopping.com.br]
  • Buena Vista Shopping The newest shopping in Goiânia. Av. T-4 and T-61, nº 466 - Setor Bueno - Goiânia - GO - CEP 74230-030, +55 (62) 3515-0500 [www.buenavistashopping.com.br]

Goiania Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Goiania nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs

Goiania nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs

  • Cachaçaria Água Doce, Av, T-1. Offers all kind of cachaças (Brazilian drink made form sugar cane) with prices between R$2.50 and R$7.00.
  • Cerrado, Av. T-4 and Av. T-11. Regular and well attended bar of the mid and high social classes. It's beer is about R$3.00. It's definitely a good place for meeting people.

Night Clubs

  • It's, Av. 136, near Rua 90. Cover charge: R$25.00 (for men) / R$15 (for women)... You can easily get a courtesy so you can consume the amount you paid for entering. This is a nice club, with expensive beer, pop electronic music. There are some nights with open bar, so you better check out all the week line-up and choose the best day.
  • Café Cancun, Shopping Flamboyant, 3º piso. Cover charge: R$25.00 (for men) / R$15.00 (for women)... You can easily get a courtesy so you can consume the amount you paid for entering. Nice club, with expensive beer, pop electronic music.
  • Café Cancun, Buena Vista Shopping. Cover charge: R$25.00 (for men) / R$15.00 (for women). Very different rhythms, beer about R$3.00. It's hard to get in after 12AM because it usually gets very crowded.

Pubs

  • Bolshoi, Av. T-2, in front of Cateretê. Average cover charge: R$5.00. Nice atmosphere, good pop music or at least good shows playing on the big screen.

Goiania cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels & lodging

Full range of options - from Backpacker to Business Executive.

  • Hotel Principe, Av. Anhangura 2936(Right off Araguaia), ☎ +55 62 3224 0085. Single R$ 18-30.  edit
  • Hotel Paissandu, Av. Goiás 1290. Basic and inexpensive, with a decent por kilo restaurant next door.
  • Castro's Park Hotel, Av. República do Líbano. The best hotel in the city, 5 stars rated. If you aren't a budget traveller, you'll enjoy a lot this hotel.
  • Hotel Rio Vermelho, Rua 4 n.26 Centro. Simple, clean and central in the city downtown. Good prices with parking, wireless internet and a simple breakfast included. Phone: +55 62 3227 2500 - www.hotelriovermelho.com.br - reservas@hotelriovermelho.com.br.

Get out

This page was last edited at 22:32, on 7 September 2008 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Marius Mollersen, Michele Ann Jenkins, Gene Whitmer, Ricardo, Ian Kirk, Iuriatan Felipe Muniz and Paul N. Richter, Wikitravel user(s) Jonboy, Episteme and Nzpcmad and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.

Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license