Torre de TV de Brasília

What makes it special

The viewing platform sits 75 metres up and runs the full circle, so the Plano Piloto lies below you on every side. One side looks down on the Esplanada dos Ministérios. Turn round for the north and south hotel sectors and the Mané Garrincha stadium.

The tower itself is 224 metres of pillars, concrete and metal mast. Lúcio Costa, the city's planner, designed it with the Eiffel Tower in mind. That makes it one of the few major buildings in the capital not drawn by Oscar Niemeyer.

Look at where the pillars meet: a triangular block of bare concrete, 25 metres high and wrapped in glass. Inside it is the Museu das Gemas, a permanent display of gemstones.

In front of the tower stands the Berimbau, a 15-metre bronze by Alexandre Wakhevitch. The craft market started at the tower's entrance in the 1960s and now trades on its own site just below it.

Visiting

From the base of the tower, you join the line for the lift. When your turn comes, staff direct you to the lift for the ride up.

Walk the whole circle at the top, then come back down. Cross to the Feira da Torre just below the tower, which trades from Thursday to Sunday and is busiest at weekends.

More than 500 stalls sell sculpture, cushions, dried flowers, furniture and percussion instruments. The food court in the middle is where you eat: a pastel with caldo de cana, or acarajé from the baianas. At weekends, finish at the fountain, where forty-minute shows turn the water coloured and set it moving to music.

Tips

Aim for the late afternoon and check the sunset time first, because the deck closes in the early evening. At weekends you queue for the lift, though the wait is short.

Up top, the railings have gaps wide enough for a lens, so keep a firm grip on your phone when you hold it through them. The jets and lights do not always run, so plan an evening round the water show only once you know it is on.