theatro municipal, located in cinelândia in downtown rio, is a good place to start a cultural exploration of the city - completed in 1909, the building provides seating for over two thousand theatre lovers.

visitors are able to watch various shows from ballet to the opera as well as classic and contemporary theatre performances - a number of paintings, depicting brazil's most famous architects, are on show including henrique bernardelli, the man responsible for designing the theatre's facade. the theatre is home to both the petrobras symphony orchestra and the brazilian symphonic orchestra.

the Biblioteca nacional do brasil or national library of brazil is located within the same area, and with over nine million books there is surely something for everyone - it is currently the largest library in south america and the seventh largest in the world.

another centre that is located in cinelândia is the justiça federal cultural centre, which was once a meeting spot for supreme court justices but is nowadays used for magnificent art exhibitions, and also offers lectures on varying topics.