Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói

Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói features a unique saucer-shaped architecture and houses the João Sattamini Collection, one of Brazil’s largest contemporary art collections.

Planning your visit

Niemeyer's MAC Niterói is one of the most photographed buildings in Brazil: a white saucer on a single central column, cantilevered over a cliff above Guanabara Bay with Rio's skyline and Sugarloaf directly across the water. A red curving ramp leads up to the entrance. Niemeyer described it as a flower growing from the rock.

The view is the point, and the continuous window band around the gallery frames it deliberately.

Inside, the João Sattamini Collection covers Brazilian contemporary art from the 1950s onward — one of the largest such holdings in the country — with rotating exhibitions.

Niterói sits across the bay from Rio, reached by ferry, and the crossing itself gives the best approach to the building.

Bookable options include tickets combined with paragliding over Parque da Cidade, which uses the same cliffs. Allow ninety minutes for the museum. Current availability is listed below.