Rio de Janeiro Guide
Passionate, hospitable, and full of swing, Brazil's second biggest city enthrals with its contrasts. Rio combines blue seas and green mountains, glittering carnival, business suits and bikinis. Discover the Cariocan experience.
Enjoy the views from Sugar Loaf mountain and the Cristo Redentor (statue of Christ the Redeemer). The forts of Rio de Janeiro, Forte de Copacabana, Forte do Leme, Fortaleza de São João, and Fortaleza de Santa Cruz offer another perspective of the so-called 'Marvellous City'. The Parque Nacional da Tijuca will wrap you in its tropical exuberance, refresh you with its waterfalls, and allow you spectacular glimpses of the city below.
Handicrafts, including pottery, leatherwork and jewellery made of seed pods, are for sale everywhere, especially at the markets in the Avenida Atlântica and along the beaches. Find carnival costumes and Brazilian swimwear in Saara downtown. For colourful fashion Rio-style, try Ipanema. Find precious stones, quartzes and topazes in jewellery shop heaven Copacabana.
Parks, beaches, waterfalls and mountains: whatever topography you can imagine, Rio has it. Find shade in the Botanical Garden, freshen up in waterfalls at the Horto, visit the Quinta da Boa Vista and its zoo, or try a new beach every day. Trek up to the Pico do Papagaio (Parrot's Peak) or go on a boat trip to the Ilhas Cagarras (Cagarra Islands). Cariocas embrace outdoor pursuits, including football, frescobol (beach tennis), swimming, cycling, surfing, climbing and diving.
Rio de Janeiro's cultural programme is a fusion of European, African and indigenous influences. Visit 18th-century churches, go totally Brazilian and get amazed by a capoeira martial arts dance show, enjoy a Roda de Samba samba circle dance, and meet African gods at a Candomblé session. Swing your hips at the rehearsal of a samba school (such as Vila Isabel or Mangueira) or a carnival bloco (troupe) such as Escravos da Mauá.
Rio's cuisine has as many origins as its people. Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon are full of Brazilian and international restaurants from Italian and French to Japanese and Middle-Eastern, along with coffee houses and sandwich bars. Dine on fresh fish and seafood at Barra de Guaratiba and German or Brazilian delicacies like feijoada (meaty bean dish), or moqueca (a fish dish) in Largo dos Guimarães in Santa Teresa. Snack on sardines at street stalls in the aptly named Beco das Sardinhas.
In Rio de Janeiro, shanty towns are not only found in the outskirts of the city. They're also in the wealthy Zona Sul (South Zone), extending their patchwork architecture up the slopes of most of the hills. Many inhabitants of these favelas therefore enjoy a better view from their small, unplastered slum houses than the wealthy from their apartments. You can book a tour to favelas such as Rocinha, Cantagalo, Babilônia or Vidigal.
