I was very disturbed when I had read that the National Theater was sitting abandoned and in disrepair. I was thrilled, however, to find out on my recent visit to Brasilia that the lobby is once again open to the public (though the performance space remains closed and unused at this time). Within the lobby you can appreciate this stunningly beautiful work of Niemeyer and Burle Marx, with its slanted glass roof, entry ramps, floating (of course) staircase, and gorgeous landscaping. Worth stopping in for a look. The exterior needs a tiny bit of graffiti-removal, but you can immediately see why they have to patrol the exterior to keep people from "rock climbing" up its face (as it's inherently tempting by design).

This modern multifunctional National Theatre is designed by Oscar Niemeyer. It is beautiful but unfortunately very bad maintained.