4 Best Sights in Brasilia, Brasilia and the West

While the new capital was being built, the president's temporary quarters was called the Catetinho, meaning a smaller version of the grand Palácio do Catete in Rio. The wooden edifice was built in 10 days during the summer of 1956. A nearby landing strip allowed the president to fly in from Rio for his frequent inspections. The recently restored building is a must-see museum for those interested in the city's history. It's surrounded by woods with a small spring where the president and his entourage once bathed.

As a tribute to the urban planner who masterminded Brasília, this underground complex was added to the plaza and inaugurated in 1992. It has a 1,500-square-foot display of the city's blueprint, and you can read Costa's original ideas for the project (the text is in Portuguese and English).

Niemeyer designed this building to resemble a dove taking flight. Opened in 1986, the building honors such national heroes as Tancredo Neves, whose untimely death prevented him from being sworn in as Brazil's first democratically elected president after years of military dictatorship. Inside the curved structure are murals and stained-glass panels by Athos Bulcão, Marianne Peretti, and João Camara. One set of panels, Os Inconfidentes, depicts the martyrs of the 18th-century republican movement. It's extremely dark inside, so watch your step. An eternal flame burns opposite the memorial.

Opened in late 2002, the third bridge crossing Lake Paranoá is consistent with Brasília's commitment to state-of-the-art architecture and engineering, and has become one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. The award-winning bridge—a project by Alexandre Chan from Rio de Janeiro—is held aloft by three diagonal arcs that crisscross the deck. Its lakeshore location and pleasant promenade attract many people to stroll or bicycle across and enjoy the sunset.