Cells
1866 ♡
Centro de Turismo do Ceará (Emcetur)
An 1866 jail that has housed Ceará crafts since 1972. Lace, table linen and clothing, open on Mondays and on Sunday mornings too.
- 📍AddressRua Senador Pompeu, 350
- 🕒OpenMon–Fri 8–17 · Sat 8–15 · Sun 8–12
- 🧵For saleLace and crafts
- 🏛️Built1866, as a jail
Our own visit: This page only contains checked facts. After our own visit we will add what we saw ourselves, with our own photos.
Shopping in a prison cell
The Centro de Turismo do Ceará occupies Fortaleza’s old public jail, a listed neoclassical building from 1866. Emcetur, the state tourism company founded in 1971, moved in during 1972 and turned it into a tourist centre with small shops in the former cells (O POVO, 2024).
What you find is mostly Ceará handiwork: clothes in renda renascença (a needle lace typical of north-east Brazil), table and bed linen, and baby clothes. Some stallholders have been there for decades; one lacemaker told Diário do Nordeste in 2023 that she had worked there for 50 years.
✅ Good for
- Buying lace or crafts made in Ceará
- A Monday or Sunday morning, when much else is shut
- Combining with the Museu da Indústria and the fort, round the corner
⚠️ Less good for
- Expecting a museum: it is mainly shopping
- Sunday afternoons: you will find it closed
Everything for your visit
Opening times
Monday to Friday 8:00–17:00, Saturday 8:00–15:00, Sundays and holidays 8:00–12:00 (Diário do Nordeste, 19-01-2026). We found no official page with opening times.
📰 Newspaper, not an official source: Diário do Nordeste (19-01-2026): Rua Dr. João Moreira, corredor cultural · read 15-10-2026Entry and prices
The sources mention no entry fee; you pay for what you buy.
ℹ️ Not mentioned by the source · read 15-10-2026Tours and programme
No tours found. In the shops: renda renascença clothing, table and bed linen and baby clothes (Diário do Nordeste, 2023).
📰 Newspaper, not an official source: Diário do Nordeste (01-08-2023): onde comprar artesanato em Fortaleza · read 15-10-2026Getting there
In the centre. Estação das Artes and the Museu da Indústria are 5 minutes away on foot (360 and 380 m), the fort 8 minutes. From Beira-Mar in Meireles: 5.0 km by road.
🧭 Calculated with OpenStreetMap: OpenStreetMap routingAccessibility
We found no information on wheelchair access.
ℹ️ Not mentioned by the source · read 15-10-2026Good to know
Emcetur itself no longer exists, and an O POVO columnist wrote in 2024 that the centre has been neglected; photos show graffiti on the front. The main entrance is on Rua Senador Pompeu, with a second one on Rua Dr. João Moreira.
📰 Newspaper, not an official source: O POVO (25-10-2024): o memorial do turismo do Ceará · read 15-10-2026🗓️ Open by day
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🧵 Centro de Turismo (Emcetur) | 8–17 | 8–17 | 8–17 | 8–17 | 8–17 | 8–15 | 8–12 |
From jail to craft market
An 1866 jail
"Casa de Detenção" is still written above the gate. The jail was built in 1866 in neoclassical style (O POVO, 2024).
Ceará’s first tourist facility
Emcetur, the state tourism company, arrived in 1972. Diário do Nordeste calls it the first tourism facility in Ceará.
A theatre in the same block
The Teatro Carlos Câmara belongs to the building. Closed since 2019, it reopened in November 2025 (Diário do Nordeste).
Other places from here
Walking times and distances from OpenStreetMap (14-10-2026). More than 20 minutes on foot? Then we give the road distance for a taxi or Uber.
🚶 5 min walk · 361 m🚂 Estação das Artes
An 1880 railway station turned arts complex, with the Pinacoteca do Ceará and a railway museum. Free, Wednesday to Sunday, until 8 pm on Saturdays.
See this place →
🚶 5 min walk · 382 m⚙️ Museu da Indústria
A free museum of Ceará industry in a historic building facing the Passeio Público park, with one exhibition on coffee and one on electricity.
See this place →
🚶 8 min walk · 611 m🏰 Fort Nossa Senhora da Assunção
The city began here, at a fort the Dutch built as Schoonenborch. Today it is an army headquarters. Visits are free, by appointment only.
See this place →
🚶 9 min walk · 642 m⛪ Catedral Metropolitana
Two pointed spires above the centre. The first stone was laid in 1939 and the cathedral was inaugurated on 22 December 1978. Closed on Mondays.
See this place →
🚶 10 min walk · 723 m🎤 Centro Cultural Banco do Nordeste
Free theatre, music, exhibitions and a library since 1998, in a brightly painted building downtown. Open Tuesday to Saturday.
See this place →
🚶 10 min walk · 737 m🏛️ Museu do Ceará
Ceará’s oldest state museum, in a small palace on Praça dos Leões. Closed since April 2019; reopening expected in December 2026.
See this place →
🚶 10 min walk · 781 m🎻 Theatro José de Alencar
A theatre from 1910 with ironwork from Glasgow and a garden by Burle Marx. Guided tours Tuesday to Saturday, free on the 17th of every month.
See this place →
🚶 11 min walk · 798 m🎬 Cineteatro São Luiz
A 1958 picture palace on Praça do Ferreira, with a lobby of Italian marble and crystal chandeliers. Films and shows, often free or cheap.
See this place →Food, neighbourhood and beach
Questions about Centro de Turismo (Emcetur)
What is the Centro de Turismo in Fortaleza?
The old public jail from 1866, a tourist centre since 1972, with shops for Ceará crafts in the former cells (O POVO, 2024).
When is the Centro de Turismo open?
Monday to Friday 8:00–17:00, Saturday 8:00–15:00, Sundays and holidays 8:00–12:00 (Diário do Nordeste, January 2026).
What can I buy there?
Mainly renda renascença lace clothing, table and bed linen and baby clothes from local makers (Diário do Nordeste, 2023).
Sources: Diário do Nordeste (19-01-2026): Rua Dr. João Moreira, corredor cultural · O POVO (25-10-2024): o memorial do turismo do Ceará · Diário do Nordeste (01-08-2023): onde comprar artesanato em Fortaleza · O POVO (13-07-2025): Rua Doutor João Moreira, uma lindeza · OpenStreetMap routing
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