Parcão - Moinhos de Vento

The Parcão is a nice small park, located in Moinhos de Vento neighborhood. In the middle of the park there is a small pond(well... maybe more like a big puddle) with turtles, water-birds and ducks. Next to it there is a nice windmill ("Moinho de Vento") that during the summer is open for craft work and children activities. In the upper side of the park there is nice playground and an opportunity for the kids (and parents) to meet new people and make friends. Around the park there are two marked paths for jogging - the shorter one is 650m long and the longer is 1 Km long.

I think that the Parcão looks a bit different for each of us - for some it is the place to work out, for others - a great place to go with the kids (with or without a bike, with or without soccer ball) or the dog, others can enjoy reading the weekend newspaper or a nice book (with or without Chimarrão).

From time to time, usually on Sundays, there are free activities at the park, like concerts, children games, working out in groups, dog shows and more.

Sports Clubs in Porto Alegre

There are many sports clubs around the city. The biggest ones are Grêmio Náutico União and Sogipa. The clubs have several indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, gym, recreation areas, restaurants and sport classes. During the summer holiday they have special programs for kids. The União club has 3 different facilities, one in the Petropolis neighbourhood, one in Moinhos (open 24 hours a day) and the third is on an island on the Guaiba river.

We have been members of the União and the Juvenil clubs. The Juvenil is a smaller, yet fancy club, located in the Moinhos neighbourhood.

To use a club facilities you must become a member. Usually, the membership is for life, by buying a sort of club share and paying a monthly fee. There are lots of clubs in a wide price range. It's important to know, that as a foreigner, you don't need to buy the club share (which is very expensive). There's an option to pay a flat entrance fee and then a monthly fee that you stop paying whenever you decide to stop your membership. We usually renew our membership for the summer months only.

Addresses: Grêmio Náutico União (GNU) - Rua João Obino, 300 Tel. 3025.3800

Sogipa - Rua Barão de Cotegipe, 415 Tel. 3325.7200

Juvenil (AJL) - Rua Marquês do Herval, 280 Tel. 3323 4304