Museu da República
Museu da República
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Transformed from palace to presidential residence in 1889 with the overthrow of the monarchy, this granite and marble building has striking floors and ceilings and houses a museum with presidential memorabilia, furniture and art.
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Top ways to experience Museu da República and nearby attractions

The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Zona Sul (South Zone)
How to get there
  • Catete • 1 min walk
  • Largo do Machado • 8 min walk
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,261 reviews
Excellent
713
Very good
453
Average
79
Poor
7
Terrible
9

annikalibby
Houston, Texas201 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2013 • Couples
I had read about the Museum of the Republic and was intrigued by the description as the building is the place where one of the last presidents of Brazil committed suicide in order to avoid a miliary coupe about fifty years ago. Oddly, his death did indeed delay the military as the people took the streets in sympathy and mourning for him.

With such a unique background I was prepared to enjoy the museum, but sadly the museum is 90% in Portuguese with no translations. There is supposedly an English audioguide but it was either unavailable or nonfunctional the day we visited. The first floor is all exhibits explained in Portuguese, so we practically jogged through those, and headed up to the second floor.

The Museum was once called Catete Palace and the second floor meeting rooms are opulent, with crystal chandelierrs, marble columns, elegant furniture, and wall paper that reminded me of Versailles. It was easy to see why it was called a palace based on the second floor.

The third floor had the room of President Vargas, who killed himself there, and it was completely in tact from the day he died. Even the clock was stopped at the time he died. It was morbid but also a bit interesting. What surprised me the most was how simple his rooms were compared to the opulent palace atmosphere just one floor below.

The gardens behind the Museum were lovely and worth a visit as well. All in we spent about an hour in the Museum, and while it was cheap (R$3 per person), I can't imagine that it will be a great stop for anyone who doesn't speak or read Portuguese.
Written 5 April 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GUSDALI
Rio de Janeiro, RJ8,024 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2010
The former presidential palace of Brazil (the times in which Rio was the capital - until 1960) is one of the best museums in the country on the subject country's recent history. Nevertheless, the museum is mainly focused on the life of one of the most charismatic leaders of the country, Getulio Vargas, who committed suicide in his room, faithfully maintained as at the time of the tragic event.
Written 2 September 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Alex G
Lightwater, UK86 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2019 • Family
Our kids always enjoy visiting historical houses, stately homes etc, mainly due to the grandeur... this did not disappoint them. Well worth an hour or two. The audio guides are only R$5 and well worth it.
Written 31 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jbushman2017
Nipomo, CA519 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Couples
The museum occupies a mansion that was the residence to the President of the Republic for many years. It was also in this place that President Vargas ended his life. This place is the closest you come to learning about the history of the republic. Signage is in Portuguese but an audio guide in English allowed us to hear about the furnishings (which are authentic) and some of the history of the 20th century that took place here. Attached to the museu are the original gardens once attached to this private mansion. A stroll around the gardens should accompany any visit (popular by locals and their children). We spent about 1.5 hours here.
Written 5 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ana_Carolina_Martins
Montreal, Canada70 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
It's been 2,5 years that I leave in Rio, and it was the first time I have been here! The palace is so relevant in our history that I feel ashamed for not having been here before! It's very well preserved and free of charge! Its garden is very well maintained with wildlife that make kids crazy: ducks, turtles, ducks and birds! Great place for pictures lovers too!
Its architecture and decoration demonstrate the wealthy society back then!
Written 23 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Erjan2016
24 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2013 • Solo
It is actually a small but very well maintained park in the neighborhood of Catete (metro stop of the same name). In the premisses of the park, there is the Museum of the Republic with a nice book shop (entrance from the side of the museum building). There is a small cinema in another building inside the park, which shows good independent movies at a very low cost. From time to time, there are open air exhibitions in the alleys of the park. There is an entrance fee for the museum, but on Wednesdays it is free of charge. The building of the museum housed the Brazilian government before the latter was moved to the newly founded capital of Brasilia in 1960.
Written 7 July 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Frederico N
Rio de Janeiro297 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Where on Earth can you visit the bedroom where a president commited suicide? Here in Palacio do Catete you can even see the pijamas president Getulio Vargas was wearing. Beautiful palace, breathes history, nice gardens.
Written 20 January 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Attila L
London, UK167 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Solo
This place used to be the home for several Brazilian presidents and it was an important political building throughout the history of Brazil. Its exhibitions show the different rooms of the building and how it was used by the presidents and ministers. When I was there all 3 floors could be visited. It also has a really nice garden which also worth a visit.
Written 8 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

majo56
Kilkenny, Ireland203 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Couples
This is a lovely little museum right beside Catete metro station. Once you go beyond the ground floor, each room has an explanatory plaque in English. You can also get a brochure in English at the ticket desk.
Rooms are beautifully decorated, each in a different style. The central stairwell is breathtaking.
Entrance charge is very reasonable at 6 reals per person. The brochure says that over 60s are free, but we didn’t realize this!
I would definitely recommend a visit.
Written 27 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Thelastdodo20
London, UK434 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2016 • Couples
The building is interesting enough - a period building, with rooms with original furnishings, impressive painted ceilings and decorations etc. We went on a Sunday and it was free to get in, which was a bonus. The garden behind is lovely too. The main rooms had some info in English, but the other exhibitions downstairs were only in Portuguese. The reason I am only giving it 3 is the attitude of the staff. Firstly, we were pointedly told to put our (very small) bags into a locker, while this rule apparently didn't apply to other tourists at all. I can understand with a big rucksack, but one small carrier bag and a handbag?! Secondly, the staff all sat / stood directly in front of the fans in the rooms, seemingly just to annoy everyone. The place is boiling - surely the fan is intended to cool the whole room, not just the guard?! At one point we were reading the English leaflet they'd given us, and the guard was standing away from the fan. We stood next to it, just to read the leaflet, and he immediately came over, barged us out the way and sat down right in our way. It was like no one else was allowed to use the fans. It was the same in each room and we found this extremely rude and unthoughtful. For this reason, would not bother visiting here. The National Museum is much better in every respect.
If you're interested in reading more about our travels in Rio and all of South America, check out our blog: joke-around dot blogspot dot com
Written 11 April 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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