Museums and monuments of João Pessoa

Museu de História da Paraíba, no Palácio da Redenção

Housed in the former Government Palace, on Praça João Pessoa, downtown. The museum is split between contemporary rooms, with exhibitions on different periods of Paraíba's history, and historic rooms that preserve the palace's original layout.

Outside stands the mausoleum holding the remains of João Pessoa — the president of Paraíba whose assassination in 1930 gave the city its name and helped trigger the 1930 Revolution.

Entrada gratuita. De terça a sábado a visitação é livre, das 9h às 16h. Aos domingos só há visita guiada, em horários fixos: 9h, 11h, 13h e 15h.

Espaço Cultural José Lins do Rego

Opened in 1982, it is the state's largest cultural complex — and the one visitors most overlook. At a single address it brings together four performance venues (Teatro Paulo Pontes, Teatro de Arena, Sala Roberto Cartaxo and the Maestro José Siqueira Concert Hall), the José Lins do Rego Museum, the Archidy Picado Gallery and the Historical Archive.

For those travelling with children, the case is different: the Cultural Centre has a planetarium and a science centre, as well as the Juarez da Gama Batista Library and a comics library.

Fica na Av. Dr. João da Mata, 200, no Jaguaribe, dentro do Centro Administrativo Estadual. A programação muda toda semana — vale conferir antes de ir.

Fundação Casa de José Américo

This is the easiest to fit in for anyone staying on the seafront: it is at Av. Cabo Branco, 3336, right on the shore. It is the house where José Américo de Almeida, the Paraíba writer and politician, lived, now turned into a museum.

O conjunto inclui o Museu Casa José Américo, a Biblioteca Dumerval Trigueiro, arquivo documental e o mausoléu do escritor. A fundação mantém programação permanente, com cineclube e feiras.

Funciona de terça a domingo, das 9h às 16h.

Os casarões do Centro Histórico

Casarão dos Azulejos — an eighteenth-century building, once the home of the merchant Antonio Santos Coelho, recognisable by its façade clad in Portuguese tiles.

Casarão 34 — espaço cultural no Centro Histórico, aberto ao público de segunda a sexta, pela manhã e à tarde.

Paço Municipal — construção em estilo neoclássico do início do século XX, ainda em uso administrativo.

Academia Paraibana de Letras — fundada em 14 de setembro de 1941, ocupa um dos casarões do centro antigo.

Casa da Pólvora

Built between 1704 and 1710 as an ammunition and weapons store, it is one of the city's oldest landmarks — listed by IPHAN in 1938. It stands on Ladeira São Francisco, in the Historic Centre, and houses the Walfredo Rodrigues Photographic Museum.

Check before going. At our last look, the city council's official page still carried a temporary closure notice left over from the pandemic. The information is probably out of date, but we could not confirm the reopening — call ahead before adding it to your plans.

E se a viagem for a trabalho

The Poeta Ronaldo Cunha Lima Convention Centre, in Jacarapé, is where the city's large events and conferences take place — and is usually the reason for the trip of those coming on business rather than for leisure.

It sits at the far southern end of the urban seafront, well away from Manaíra and Tambaú. If your event is there, factor in the daily commute when choosing where to stay — and take advantage of the Historic Centre museums' business hours to fit in a morning before registration.

How to fit it into your trip

The Historic Centre is best done on foot: the Palácio da Redenção, the old mansions, Casa da Pólvora, Teatro Santa Roza, Hotel Globo and the São Francisco Cultural Centre are a few blocks from one another. Set aside a morning and go early, before the heat.

The Cultural Centre lies outside that circuit, in Jaguaribe, and needs its own trip. The José Américo House, on the other hand, is on the Cabo Branco seafront — it pairs well with a late afternoon at the beach. See the 3-day itinerary to fit it all in.

We work with local partners in João Pessoa for airport transfers, guided tours and car rental. Tell us what you'd like to do and we'll point you to the right one.

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