Station building
Museum of Arts and Crafts.
Lunna Campos — CC BY 2.0 · Bernardo Gouvêa — CC BY 3.0 · Lunna Campos — CC BY 2.0 · Eduardo Duarte — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Rafael Lemieszek — CC BY-SA 4.0
Praça Rui Barbosa, known to everyone as «Station Square», was Belo Horizonte's first gateway: everything used to build the new capital of Minas Gerais in the late 19th century arrived at the railway station here, and the city's first public clock was set on the tower of the original station building. The square was laid out from 1904 with English-style gardens, and on 11 November 1922 the new eclectic-style station by the architect Luiz Olivieri opened, with the gardens redrawn in the French manner. The station building now houses the Museum of Arts and Crafts and the main entrance to the Central metro station. Groups of marble statues decorate the square, among them the four seasons and two lions and two tigers, replicas of works placed here in the city's early years. Since the «Diretas Já» rallies the square has been an open space for gatherings, free concerts and carnival, looking onto the iron Santa Tereza viaduct. Half an hour is enough, together with the Museum of Arts and Crafts next door.
Museum of Arts and Crafts.
The four seasons.
An old iron bridge.
Praça Rui Barbosa, central Belo Horizonte
Museu de Artes e OfíciosThe Museum of Arts and Crafts opened on 14 December 2005 as the first Brazilian 1 minute walk4.9
Mercado Central, Belo HorizonteThe Mercado Central is Belo Horizonte's best-known market, filling a whole block15 minutes walk4.6
Praça da LiberdadePraça da Liberdade is Belo Horizonte's civic heart, laid out between 1895 and 1822 minutes walk4.9The station building with the Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Central metro entrance, gardens and marble statues; free concerts are held there.