Fodor's Expert Review Panteão da Pátria

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.