Give the first day to the centre: Rua XV de Novembro on foot, the Largo da Ordem (on a Sunday for the craft fair) and lunch at the Mercado Municipal. Give the second to the parks and the architecture, by the Linha Turismo bus: the Jardim Botânico, the Ópera de Arame, Parque Tanguá at sunset and the Oscar Niemeyer museum. Keep the third for the Serra Verde Express down to Morretes and a plate of barreado.
Curitiba sits about 930 metres up on the Paraná plateau, cooler and greener than any other big Brazilian city. It earned its name for planning: the first bus rapid transit, a pedestrian main street in 1972, and parks built over old quarries.
The city's postcard: an iron-and-glass greenhouse at the end of French-style parterres, opened in 1991. Climb the greenhouse steps for the view back over the gardens, then walk the Atlantic Forest trail behind it.
Niemeyer's raised Eye over a reflecting pool is the building people come for, and the galleries beneath hold the strongest art programme in southern Brazil. Walk the ramp up into the Eye before the main halls.
The train drops from the plateau to the coastal plain through the Serra do Mar, over viaducts cut into the Atlantic Forest, in about four hours. It is the best view in Paraná from a seat.
A tubular steel theatre built in 75 days and opened in 1992 over a flooded quarry lake. Cross the walkway in and look up, then walk next door to the Pedreira Paulo Leminski, the city's open-air concert ground.
The colonial core: cobbled squares, the Igreja da Ordem from 1737 and the Memorial de Curitiba. On Sundays the craft fair runs from about 9am to 2pm through the surrounding streets.
Two old quarries joined by a tunnel, with a waterfall beside the belvedere at the top. It is the city's sunset spot, and the walkway along the cliff edge gives the view.
Closed to cars in 1972 and among the first pedestrian streets in Brazil, the Rua das Flores runs from Praça Osório to Praça Santos Andrade past Art Nouveau facades. In December the Palácio Avenida choir sings from its windows.
Opened in 1958, it became the first market in Brazil with a section for organic produce in 2009. Graze on pastéis, Paraná cheeses and pinhão in season, then take coffee upstairs.
The Italian quarter, settled in 1878, lines Avenida Manoel Ribas with family restaurants serving fried chicken, polenta and colony wine. Madalosso, listed by Guinness for 4,645 seats, is the extreme of the genre.
A forest park honouring German immigrants, with a Hansel and Gretel trail, a reading cottage and a lookout tower. It is the quietest of the big parks and the best one for children.
The oldest park in the city, opened in 1886, with islands and bridges a short walk from Rua XV.
A riverside park with the Memorial Ucraniano, a wooden church built in the Ukrainian style.
Log houses moved from Polish settlers' farms, in a wood named for John Paul II's 1980 visit.
A spiral tower of eucalyptus logs above a quarry lake, with a forest trail around it.
Founded in 1876 and now in the Palácio São Francisco, it tells the state's story from the first peoples on.
An Egyptian collection, mummy included, run by the Rosicrucian order beside its temple.
Brazil's part in the Second World War in Italy, with the aircraft and tank outside.
The home and studio of the Norwegian-born painter who trained Paraná's first generation of artists.
The columned university building facing Praça Santos Andrade, founded in 1912.
The neo-Gothic cathedral on Praça Tiradentes, where the city was founded.
Manu Buffara's tasting menu built on Paraná produce, No. 35 on Latin America's 50 Best in 2023.
The giant of Santa Felicidade, with a set Italian menu brought to the table without end.
Fourth on the 2026 list of South America's 100 best coffee shops, and the top Brazilian entry.
A cobbled 19th-century road down the Serra do Mar, with rest stops in the forest.
Sandstone pillars carved by wind and rain on the plateau near Ponta Grossa.
Twelve days of classes and concerts across the city, most of them free, centred on the Teatro Guaíra.
Santa Felicidade's grape harvest festival, with fried chicken, polenta and colony wine.
Curitiba's answer to samba: an international psychobilly festival in the city's rock bars.
Thousands in fake blood shuffle from Boca Maldita to Praça Santos Andrade. Free.
The city marks its founding in 1693 with free concerts and events downtown.
Brazil's largest theatre festival, with more than 400 shows in two weeks and a fringe.
About 16,000 runners on 5 km to marathon courses, with the expo at the Niemeyer museum.
Lights across the parks and the children's choir singing from the Palácio Avenida windows.
In São José dos Pinhais, about 18 km from the centre. The E32 Ligeirinho bus links it to the city network, and ride apps take about 30 minutes.
The combined coach and rail station on the east side of the centre, with intercity buses and the Serra Verde Express to Morretes.
The bus rapid transit network the world copied: dedicated lanes and glass tube stations where you pay before boarding and step in level with the floor.
A hop-on, hop-off loop of about 26 stops past the parks and sights, starting from the centre. One ticket covers several boardings.
Beef slow-cooked for hours in a sealed clay pot, the dish of Morretes.
Raw seasoned beef on rye with onion and chives, the city's bar snack.
Polish and Ukrainian dumplings, filled with potato, cheese or meat.
Fried chicken and fried polenta, the Santa Felicidade set lunch.
Araucaria pine seeds, boiled or roasted, sold everywhere in winter.
A spread of breads, cakes and cold cuts from the immigrant farms.
Banana sweets from the coastal valleys around Morretes and Antonina.
Hot cachaça with ginger and spices, poured at the June festivals.
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