Afro Brazil Museum
Afro Brazil Museum
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
Packed with more than 3,000 artifacts from Brazil's five-century history, the Museu Afro Brasil relates how Brazil's history is inextricably tied to the experience of African slaves and their descendants through culture and traditions that have come to define the country. In fact, there are so many statues, photographs, illustrations, masks, dolls, clothes, documents, paintings, furniture, pieces of plantation equipment, installations and mementos, it's almost impossible to take in the whole place in one go. The printed information is almost exclusively in Portuguese, but the museum provides English-speaking guides, and the back stories behind every single object are at once harrowing and hopeful. Hands down, one of the best museums in Latin America.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Neighbourhood: Ibirapuera
Ibirapuera Park, the highlight of this neighbourhood, is a family-friendly area to have a picnic, relax, play sports, exercise or appreciate art. It gets crowded during the weekends and is a popular leisure destination for residents. Its 1,584 square kilometers holds three lakes, two museums and several other cultural spaces. The park hosts a variety of events throughout the year, such as free music concerts and a water and light show celebrating the holidays at the end of the year. There are two important monuments to visit, the Obelisk and the Flag Monument. Ibirapuera is a perfect escape!
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,251 reviews
Excellent
774
Very good
361
Average
88
Poor
19
Terrible
9
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KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,581 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
Very insightful. I now have a better knowledge of the Portuguese slave traders workings and impact on a sad period of Brazil’s past, and the African influence/impact on Afro-Brazilian heritage and culture. A museum well worth visiting.
Written 16 February 2024
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.
Daniela T
Porto Velho, RO54 contributions
Dec 2023 • Friends
The museum has a huge collection, you could spend a whole day inside.
Right now, Dec/23, there is an exhibition of artists from Benin and woodcuts. On the upper floor there is a permanent exhibition of Afro-Brazilian culture, with an entire section on orixás, a room with torture items used on slaves, and a session on Afro-Brazilian exponents, including actors, athletes, and visual artists.
Right now, Dec/23, there is an exhibition of artists from Benin and woodcuts. On the upper floor there is a permanent exhibition of Afro-Brazilian culture, with an entire section on orixás, a room with torture items used on slaves, and a session on Afro-Brazilian exponents, including actors, athletes, and visual artists.
Written 30 December 2023
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.
DereckDC
Washington DC, DC92 contributions
Aug 2023 • Business
Absolutely amazing! There is so much to see in the museum. We took a couple hours there. There were some amazing exhibits that brought both sadness and joy. If you bring a bag, water bottle or umbrella they will require you to leave it in a free locker with a key. The museum is free on Wednesdays.
Written 27 August 2023
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.
Archie
Glenmoore, PA7,760 contributions
Jun 2024 • Family
We walked in the park and stopped by the museum. It's a charged entry but not too expensive. It's housed in a large structure. Thr staff is really nice. We saw temporary exhibition of teacups. Very unique. The upper floor has art, jewelry, clothes. It was interesting.
Written 18 June 2024
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.
Kathleen M
Swan Lake29 contributions
Feb 2020 • Solo
It's the middle of a warm humid day in Sao Paulo and attendance lines to all the museums are long and visitors are testy. All of the museums except this one, where I am one of a dozen or so travelers. Why? I don't understand... the building itself offers a cool respite from the summer heat; its tall ceilings and design offering a flow of air and easy viewing of an extensive collection of Afro Brasilian artifacts and art. The collection is an approachable history to the story of Brazil from colonization slavery to modern day - through artifacts, art and photography one can follow vibrant, and in the case of the Amazonian natives, endangered cultures.
There is a necessary story to understand Brazil... So why aren't you here?
There is a necessary story to understand Brazil... So why aren't you here?
Written 7 February 2020
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.
Maria G
Miami, FL142 contributions
Sept 2016
Since I like to explore the culture and history of the countries I visit, I decided to go to the Afro Brasil Museum. Initially, I was delighted to see how ample the collection seemed, with historical artifacts, paintings, photography, videos and even costumes. However, on more closer inspection, I was disappointed to find that the context provided for each item was minimum to null, making it impossible to garner the significance of the item being seen.
It would help immensely to have small summaries of historical contexts and/or explanations of what one is seeing, otherwise, the museum loses value and the visitor loses interest. There are areas, for example, close to the map of Africa, that are full of wordy explanations on the different tribes in Africa, and then hardly anything in the rest of the museum on how that related to their descendants in Brazil. I saw things that I was curious about, but alas, I guess I'll never know their significance.
I can read Portuguese, but I also ran into a woman from Nigeria who was frustrated that she could not read anything anyway because it is all in Portuguese and no other language. Perhaps a few signs in English would be useful for international visitors, but then again, what they have in Portuguese scant. I found myself watching a video on what looked like capoeria but there was no explanation, context or summary. The same for what looked like celebrations and parades of some sort. Are we supposed to know what we're seeing? The museum should do a better job of this, as guided tours are not available that often.
If they had this I would have given this museum 5 stars, but as it stands, it falls way short of its potential.
It would help immensely to have small summaries of historical contexts and/or explanations of what one is seeing, otherwise, the museum loses value and the visitor loses interest. There are areas, for example, close to the map of Africa, that are full of wordy explanations on the different tribes in Africa, and then hardly anything in the rest of the museum on how that related to their descendants in Brazil. I saw things that I was curious about, but alas, I guess I'll never know their significance.
I can read Portuguese, but I also ran into a woman from Nigeria who was frustrated that she could not read anything anyway because it is all in Portuguese and no other language. Perhaps a few signs in English would be useful for international visitors, but then again, what they have in Portuguese scant. I found myself watching a video on what looked like capoeria but there was no explanation, context or summary. The same for what looked like celebrations and parades of some sort. Are we supposed to know what we're seeing? The museum should do a better job of this, as guided tours are not available that often.
If they had this I would have given this museum 5 stars, but as it stands, it falls way short of its potential.
Written 15 September 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.
Fabio Marques
Sao Paulo, SP188 contributions
Sept 2019
The building by itself is a masterpiece of Modernist Architecture. Inside you will the latest in African-Brazilian art expression.
Written 12 August 2020
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.
Ronald A
Queretaro City, Mexico125 contributions
May 2017 • Friends
It is incredible! No doubt the best museum on Afro history in the Americas?
Surprising! Breath taking!
A must while visiting São Paulo.
Besides, the Ibirapuera Park where it is located is another must see.
Two great place in one, visit.
Surprising! Breath taking!
A must while visiting São Paulo.
Besides, the Ibirapuera Park where it is located is another must see.
Two great place in one, visit.
Written 22 May 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.
CarleeBrisbane
Brisbane209 contributions
Mar 2015 • Couples
Unfortunately we don´t understand Portuguese... I think we would have gotten so much more from this museum if we did. I believe there is an English audio guide but you need a smartphone to take advantage of this. We did buy the English book guide but it didn´t help us navigate the museum.. you could just buy the English guide on the way out as it does a good job of summing up the museum rather than providing a guide you can navigate the museum with. That said the museum was jam packed with beautiful exhibits and was well worth visiting but you might find it a little frustrating that you can see the exhibits but not really read much info about them. If you can read Portuguese Im sure you could spend hours and hours in there :-)
Written 31 March 2015
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.
HMSLondon101
London, UK238 contributions
Jul 2014 • Friends
A truly world class museum, with some quite stunning sections, telling the history of and the story of the huge impact of African peoples and cultures - the Portuguese brought millions of slaves to early Brazil - on the development of modern Brazil and its culture, sport and art.
Two exhibits in particular are remarkable poignant and moving - firstly the frame of a actual/genuine slave ship, in a darkened section in the middle of the main exhibit surrounded by images and items and audio-visual stimuli about the horrific conditions on these ships
And secondly the room on the bottom floor that is full of wooden and metal objects: initially these items seem quite mundane, until you realise each is a item relating to a common activity of physical labour that slaves had to work in. A remarkable and most poignant exhibit, and in no way graphic or overstating the case: the items speak for themselves. (See my photos).
Some very interesting sections too about the Chistianisation of African and indigenous populations by the Portuguese, and the fascinating merger of Christian and traditional religious and cultural practices that has developed in Brazil as a consequence.
One important bit of advice - all the signage and wording etc in the exhibit is in Portuguese, so if you don't speak it you will need to buy the English guide from the bookshop/store. It only costs R2, and considering the museum is free that is very good value!
The temporary exhibition - that is still on I believe - on African influences and contributions to Brazilian football, was also very nice and ever so colourful and visually appealing.
The only criticism is that there is little obvious flow between sections of the permanent exhibitions/museum, with no obvious way of walking around (even with the guide in your hand!). So you have to wonder around, in an order that makes sense to you. But there is so much to see in here that this is only a minor frustration.
Staff were wonderfully helpful too.
In summary this is a must-see, especially as admission is free : take a whole morning/afternoon or a whole day at the Ibirapuera Park, enjoy a lovely walk and this and other excellent museums/galleries on the park.
Two exhibits in particular are remarkable poignant and moving - firstly the frame of a actual/genuine slave ship, in a darkened section in the middle of the main exhibit surrounded by images and items and audio-visual stimuli about the horrific conditions on these ships
And secondly the room on the bottom floor that is full of wooden and metal objects: initially these items seem quite mundane, until you realise each is a item relating to a common activity of physical labour that slaves had to work in. A remarkable and most poignant exhibit, and in no way graphic or overstating the case: the items speak for themselves. (See my photos).
Some very interesting sections too about the Chistianisation of African and indigenous populations by the Portuguese, and the fascinating merger of Christian and traditional religious and cultural practices that has developed in Brazil as a consequence.
One important bit of advice - all the signage and wording etc in the exhibit is in Portuguese, so if you don't speak it you will need to buy the English guide from the bookshop/store. It only costs R2, and considering the museum is free that is very good value!
The temporary exhibition - that is still on I believe - on African influences and contributions to Brazilian football, was also very nice and ever so colourful and visually appealing.
The only criticism is that there is little obvious flow between sections of the permanent exhibitions/museum, with no obvious way of walking around (even with the guide in your hand!). So you have to wonder around, in an order that makes sense to you. But there is so much to see in here that this is only a minor frustration.
Staff were wonderfully helpful too.
In summary this is a must-see, especially as admission is free : take a whole morning/afternoon or a whole day at the Ibirapuera Park, enjoy a lovely walk and this and other excellent museums/galleries on the park.
Written 1 August 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.
Possui local de alimentação dentro do Museu Afro?
Written 11 August 2019
Dentro não tem mas do lado de fora bem perto tem um restaurante a 30 metros e se atravessar a passarela por cima da 23 de maio , vai chegar no museu de arte contemporânea e alí tem um excelente restaurante que se chama vista com uma vista maravilhosa do parque de do vale da 23 de maio
Written 15 August 2019
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