For many people Paranaguá is just a port city, the end of the line from the bus and train from Curitiba. But it is a scenic, laid-back place well worth more than a quick transfer. The train ride down from Curitiba through the Serra do Mar — the Serra Verde Express — is one of the most spectacular rail journeys in Brazil, and reason enough to make the trip.
The historic centre has fine colonial architecture, colourful waterfront houses, and a handful of churches dating back to the 1700s — the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, the small Afro-Brazilian Igreja de São Benedito, and the Igreja Matriz up the hill. The Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, housed in a former Jesuit college, is small but rewarding. Along the waterfront you will find fishermen bringing in the catch of the day and simple restaurants serving fresh seafood — the barreado, a slow-cooked beef stew traditional to the Paraná coast, is the local speciality you should not miss; the Mercado do Café and Danúbio Azul are the obvious places to try it.
Paranaguá is also the jumping-off point for Ilha do Mel, a car-free island with good beaches and a lighthouse, reachable by boat from the terminal just outside town, and for the quieter Ilha da Cotinga in the bay.