Weekday mornings, shoppers squeeze through the arched doors of the Mercado Público, and downtown hums with buses. By late afternoon the city seems to clock out at once, and people carry thermoses of chimarrão down to the shore by the Usina do Gasômetro to watch the sun drop behind the islands of the Guaíba.
Away from the center, Cidade Baixa keeps its bars open late, and Sunday brings the Brique da Redenção, a fair of antiques and crafts. Summers are hot and sticky, winters cool and windy, with rain spread across the year. A Local Friend knows when the market deserves an early start and which stretch of shore earns one more round of mate.
