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The best way to discover a city is through its stomach. This mecca of fine gastronomic foodstuffs, affectionately known as "Mercadao" to locals, opened in 1933 to the forested backdrop of Parque Dom Pedro I until it was hacked down to make way for the sales activity that now besieges around the market. The neo-baroque building of the city market was designed by Ramos de Azevedo (the same guy responsible for the Teatro Municipal); look for the magnificent stained-glass windows depicting various scenes of food production. A few hundred food merchants hawk international offerings from herbs and spices imported from India to cheeses from Europe, but your time will be better spent sampling Brazilian goodies such as dried codfish (bacalhau) and nuts, and choosing quality cuts of world-famous Brazilian beef. By far the most popular activity is heading to the fruit stands and paying anywhere from R$5 to R$10 to taste weird-looking tropical and Amazonian fruit like dragonfruit and mangosteen, followed up with a mortadella sandwich or codfish-stuffed pastel. This is the only place you can be blatantly tourist without feeling embarrassed for it. Photo: Crispin Cairns
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QUIRKS
- A newer mezzanine level hosts a food court. It's a pleasant viewing platform from which to watch the buzz of activity and reflect on the interior's old grandeur.
- The dried-cheese chips at the Mercadao's oldest stand, Emporio Chiappetta, are divine.
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