Belém’s historic old city offers a cornucopia of palatial 17th- and 18th-century buildings. Many of the structures, especially those fronting the river and four adjoining plazas, have been turned into excellent museums and galleries. Highlights include the robin’s-egg-blue Museu de Arte de Belém (Palácio Antônio Lemos) and the elegant Museu do Estado do Pará (Palácio Lauro Sodré), both of which are housed in once-lavish rubber-boom palaces on Praça Dom Pedro II.
