General Info

    Porto Alegre (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpoɾtu aˈlɛɡɾi] ("happy port")) is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area (3,979,561 inhabitants). It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian state. Porto Alegre is one of the most important cultural, political and economic centers of Brazil. Two Mercosul countries, Argentina and Uruguay, border on the State of Rio Grande do Sul.
Porto Alegre was founded in 1742 by immigrants from the Azores, Portugal. In the late 19th century the city received many immigrants from other parts of the world, particularly Germany, Italy, and Poland. The vast majority of the population is of European descent.
    The city lies on the eastern bank of the Rio Guaiba (Guaiba Lake), where five rivers converge to form the Lagoa dos Patos (Lagoon of the Ducks), a giant freshwater lagoon navigable by even the largest of ships. This five-river junction has become an important alluvial port as well as a chief industrial and commercial center of Brazil.
The port of Porto Alegre is important for transporting local produce. The "Gaucho capital" has a broad-based economy that lays particular emphasis on agriculture and industry. Agricultural production includes products such as plums, peaches, rice and cassava grown on rural smallholdings. The shoe and leather industries are also important, especially in Novo Hamburgo, in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre.
    Porto Alegre has a long coastline on the Guaíba Lake, and its topography is punctuated by 40 hills. In the lake, a vast body of water, a maze of islands facing the city creates an archipelago where a unique ecosystem gives shelter to abundant wildlife. The city area concentrates 28% of the native flora of Rio Grande do Sul, with 9,288 species. Among these, there are many trees which are the vestiges of the Atlantic Forest. Fauna are also diversified, specially in the islands and hills. The Portoalegrense environs include many parks, squares and wooded streets.
    In recent years, Porto Alegre hosted the World Social Forum, an initiative of several non-government organizations. The 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches was held in Porto Alegre in 2006.

Central Public Market
    Central Public Market is a neoclassical building opened in 1869. From 1995 to 1996 it underwent a major restoration process, which modified its original structure. With over 100 shops and stores, there is great variety of options: restaurants, fruit and fish stores, and a famous ice cream parlor.

Matrix Square
    The "Praça da Matriz" is a very special point located at the very heart of Historical Downtown Porto Alegre, close to many other historical places of outmost importance, being immediately surrounded by the Piratiny Palace, the House of Justice, the Metropolitan Cathedral and the Saint Peter Theatre (Theatro São Pedro). Also, it is farly close to the Açores Bridge, the Açores Monument, the Mario Quintana Culture House, and the Solar Palmeiro, all located in downtown.

    Museums

Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art – MARGS
    With an eclectic style, the building was designed by German architect Theo Wiederspahn. Originally it was the headquarters of the Fiscal Surveillance Agency of the Federal Revenue Office. Nowadays, it hosts the largest public collection of art works in Rio Grande do Sul.

Júlio de Castilhos Museum
    Created in 1903, being the oldest museum in the state. Its collection comprises thousands of pieces related to the local history, from Indian relics to objects and iconography about the War of Tatters and the War of the Triple Alliance, including an important section showing fine sculptures from the Jesuitic Reductions.

Joaquim José Felizardo Museum
    An important museum with a large collection of archaeological artifacts and fotographies of Porto Alegre's old times. Its historical building, dating from 1845–55, is one of the few intact relics of colonial architecture inside the modern urban environment.

Rio Grande do Sul Memorial
    Showing a huge collection of documents, maps, objects, prints and other items related to the state's history. Its building, designed by Theodor Wiederspahn, is one of the finest examples of eclectic architecture in the city.

Mário Quintana House of Culture
    This House of Culture is located in the place where the Majestic Hotel used to work. One of the country's most important poets among the group of contemporary ones spent most of his life here. Hence, this house became a symbolic building in Porto Alegre. Nowadays, this house is one of the city's major attractions not only because of its eclectic architecture, but also it offers cinemas, exhibition halls, theatre, rehearsal room for dancing and libraries.

    Cuisine

    One of the most famous foods of Brazil, churrasco (slow-grilled and -roasted meat), originated in Rio Grande do Sul. But cuisine is eclectic here, and rice and beans sit on southern tables beside Italian and German dishes, thanks to the South's many European immigrants. Colonial coffee is the elaborate 5 PM tea, with breads, pies, and German kuchen, popular among the Germans in the South.

    Sports

    Football is a passion of the people from Porto Alegre. There is a big rivalry between two football clubs, Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, founded in 1903, and Sport Club Internacional, founded in 1909. Both teams belong to the national elite and have also won South American top honours by winning the Copa Libertadores, and the highest global trophy for football clubs, the Intercontinental Cup, respectively its successor, the Club World Cup.
    Porto Alegre will be one of the host cities of the World Cup 2014, for which Brazil is the host nation. The modernization of the Beira-Rio Stadium, home of SC Internacional, at this stage having a capacity for 58,000 spectators, is currently in progress with a view of becoming the cities World Cup venue.
    Local rivals Grêmio play in their own stadium, the Estádio Olímpico Monumental which can host a crowd of up to 45,000 people. The club is currently building a brand new stadium at the Humaitá district within FIFA/UEFA standards. The stadium will host up to 55,000 people plus bringing development to the north part of the city, nowadays somewhat underrated.