The city of Goiânia stands near the middle of Brazil, in the state of Goiás. It is 12 miles southwest from Brasilia (on the BR-6 highway). If you hire a car here you'll find Goiânia is surrounded by agricultural land and villages. Further afield, the city of Anápolis is worth visiting for its churches, parks and aircraft museum. Aparecida de Goiânia is a busy commercial centre famous for its annual religious festival and tourists are attracted to Anicuns for its natural wonders, including craters, mountains cliffs and waterfalls. Santa Genoveva Airport stands five miles to the north-east of the city.
Goiânia is a planned modern city. It was started in 1933 and was designed as a new state capital. The population is now well over a million. If you hire a car in Goiânia, You'll find the planners gave the city enormous green parks. It now has one of the world's highest proportions of urban greenery. Around a third of the city is planted with trees, including many tropical fruit trees. You'll also spot art deco architecture from the city's early days. The art deco station is closed for business but still remains open to the public. Other highlights include the popular zoo and the Monument for World Peace.
