Cell shops
Local crafts.
Marcos Elias de Oliveira Júnior — CC0 · Marcos Elias de Oliveira Júnior — CC0 · enioprado — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Farreri — CC BY 2.0 · Fabiana Lima — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ben Tavener from Curitiba, Brazil — CC BY 2.0 · Marcos Elias de Oliveira Júnior — CC0
Natal's Tourism Centre is a cultural and craft complex in the Praia do Meio district, part of the city's historic centre, owned by the state of Rio Grande do Norte and lent to a local crafts cooperative. The building went up around the 19th century, first as a shelter for beggars and an orphanage; it later became the public jail and, after renovation, reopened on 13 November 1976 as the city's tourism centre. It has been listed as state heritage since 11 August 1988. Today it holds 38 shops of local crafts and handiwork, each occupying one of the old prison cells, along with an events space, a snack bar and a restaurant. It is known for «Forró com Turista», a night held there for more than twenty years, when forró, the Northeast's folk music, is played and visitors dance. It is good for souvenirs and local crafts; check hours and show nights.
Local crafts.
Music night.
Since 1988.
Praia do Meio, historic centre, Natal
A forró music and dance night held at the centre for over twenty years.
