18 Best Sights in The Amazon, Brazil

It's hard to miss this opulent Roman-style basilica—not only does it stand out visually, but there's an enormous samauma tree (kapok variety) filled with screeching white-winged parakeets in the plaza out front. The basilica was built in 1908 as an addition to a 1774 chapel, on the site where a caboclo (rural, riverside dweller) named Placido is said to have seen a vision of the Virgin in the early 1700s. The basilica's ornate interior is constructed entirely of European marble and contains elaborate mosaics, detailed stained-glass windows, and intricate bronze doors.

At the end of the 18th century, sugar baron Domingos da Costa Barcelar built the neoclassical House of Eleven Windows as his private mansion. Today Barcelar's mansion is a gallery for contemporary arts, including photography and visiting expositions. The view from the balcony is impressive. Take a walk through the courtyard and imagine scenes of the past. This is where the aristocracy took tea and watched over the docks as slaves unloaded ships from Europe and filled them with sugar and rum.

City beautification efforts to increase tourism and encourage environmental conservation led to the creation of the Mangrove of the Egrets, a verdant park that lines the Rio Guamá. It's a great place for a short stroll. There is an aviary, a lookout tower with a view of Belém, a navigation museum, a boardwalk leading to a lookout over the Rio Guamá, a live butterfly museum, ponds with aquatic plants, food vendors, a gift shop, and an excellent restaurant. Entrance to the park is free, although each attraction costs R$3.

Its name literally meaning "see the weight" (a throwback to the time when the Portuguese weighed everything entering or leaving the region), this market is a hypnotic confusion of colors and voices. Vendors hawk tropical fruits, regional wares, and an assortment of tourist kitsch. Most interesting are the mandingueiras, women who claim they can solve any problem with "miracle" jungle roots and charms for the body and soul. They sell jars filled with animal eyes, tails, and even heads, as well as herbs, each with its own legendary power. The sex organs of the pink river dolphin are a supposedly unrivaled cure for romantic problems. In the fish market you get an up-close look at pirarucu, the Amazon's most colorful fish and the world's second-largest freshwater species. Look for bizarre armored catfish species, such as the tamuatá and the huge piraiba. Across the street is a small arched entrance to the municipal meat market. Duck in and glance at the French-style pink-and-green-painted ironwork, imported from Britain. Be sure to visit Ver-o-Peso before noon, when most vendors leave. It opens around 6 am. Leave your jewelry at home and beware of pickpockets.

In 1883 this 40-acre plot of rain forest was designated an ecological reserve. Nowadays it has an aquarium and two amusement parks as well as natural caverns, a variety of animals (some in the wild), and mammoth trees.

Prodigious architect Antônio Landi finished this small octagonal church in 1777. It was completely restored in 2013 and is considered the city's purest example of baroque architecture and the country's first octagonal church.

In 1755 Bolognese architect Antônio José Landi, whose work can be seen throughout the city, completed this cathedral's construction on the foundations of an older church. Carrara marble adorns the rich interior, which is an interesting mix of baroque, colonial, and neoclassical styles. The high altar was a gift from Pope Pius IX.

Next to Ver-o-Peso market on the river, three former warehouses have been artfully converted into a commercial–tourist area. All have one wall of floor-to-ceiling glass that provides a full river view when dining or shopping. The first is a convention center with a cinema and art exhibits. The second has shops and kiosks selling crafts and snacks, and the third has a variety of restaurants and bars. Live-music performances take place regularly. The buildings are air-conditioned and connected by glass-covered walkways and contain photos and artifacts from the port's heyday. A stroll outside along the docks provides a grand view of the bay. Tourist boats arrive and depart at the dock, making it a good place to relax both day and night.

Founded January 12, 1616, this fort is considered Belém's birthplace. From here the Portuguese launched conquests of the Amazon and watched over the bay. The fort's role in the region's defense is evidenced by massive English- and Portuguese-made cannons pointing out over the water. They are poised atop fort walls that are three yards thick in places. Recent renovations unearthed more than two-dozen cannons, extensive military middens from the moat, and native Tupi artifacts. A small museum of prefort indigenous cultures is at the entrance. Just outside the fort, cobblestone walkways hug the breezy waterfront.

Another of Belém's baroque creations, this church is notable for its pink color and convex facade. The shell dates from the 17th century, and the rest attributed to Antônio Landi's restoration. It's part of a complex that includes the Convento dos Mercedários, which has served both as a convent and a prison, though not simultaneously.

The permanent collection of furniture and paintings at this museum dates from the 18th century through the rubber boom. The museum is housed in the Palácio Antônio Lemos (circa 1883), a municipal palace built in the imperial Brazilian style with French influences.

A guided tour (call 48 hours in advance to reserve an English-speaking docent) begins in the early-18th-century baroque Igreja de Santo Alexandre (St. Alexander's Church), which is distinguished by intricate woodwork on its altar and pews. The church was abandoned for 40 years, resulting in much of the wood ceiling being lost to termites and water damage, but the areas that were restored are spectacular. On the second half of the tour, you see the museum's collection of religious sculptures and paintings.

Founded by a naturalist and a group of intellectuals in 1866, this complex contains one of the Amazon's most important research facilities. Its museum has an extensive collection of indigenous artifacts, including the distinctive and beautiful pottery of the Marajó tribes, known as marajoara. A small forest has reflecting pools with giant water lilies. But the highlight is the botanical zoo, where you can visit a variety of Amazon wildlife, including jaguars, panthers, manatees, anacondas, macaws, sloths, and monkeys. As of this writing, the aquarium is closed for renovation.

The Pará State Museum is in the sumptuous Palácio Lauro Sodré (circa 1771), an Antônio Landi creation with Venetian and Portuguese elements. Consistently outstanding visiting exhibits are on the first floor; the second floor contains the permanent collection of furniture and paintings.

For decades this was the official residence of the governor of Pará; now it provides office space for the Secretaria de Cultura (SECULT; Executive Secretary of Culture), as well as public space. Within the park are a 400-seat theater, an orchid conservatory, an ice-cream parlor, a restaurant, and shaded spots to relax and soak in the atmosphere.

At this square you'll find a large statue that commemorates the proclamation of the Republic of Brazil, an amphitheater, and several French-style iron kiosks. On Sunday, vendors, food booths, and musical groups create a festival-like atmosphere that attracts crowds of locals.

Belém's old prison began as a monastery, became a brewery, then an armory, a nunnery, and eventually the final stop for many criminals. Today, it is one of the best places to pick up traditional Marajoara ceramics and local handcrafts and jewelry. There is also a small precious-gem museum and a tranquil central courtyard.

Greek-style pillars line the front and sides of this 1878 neoclassical theater, modeled on Milan's La Scala opera house; inside, note the imported details such as Italian marble pillars and French chandeliers. Classical-music performances are also held in the theater, which seats more than 800 people. The Teatro often hosts plays, philharmonic concerts, and dance recitals.