Discovering Rio de Janeiro

Some tips about what to do in Rio de Janeiro. Just click in the link to see details about each option.

Giving Belo Horizonte a chance

Some tips about what to do in Belo Horizonte. Just click in the link to see details about each option.

Santa Teresa . Part I

You shouldn't leave Río de Janeiro without visiting Santa Teresa, a colonial neighbourhood close to the center of the city.

Santa Teresa has a lot to offer: old houses, mansions, bar, restaurants, bohemian life and the only street car in the city, called "bondinho".

You can access to the neighbourhood by walking, by streetcar or by bus. I highly recommend to take a ride in the bondinho, and get back walking, descending the Escadaria Colorida, into Lapa area.

Bondinho

The bondinho has 2 lines; you can have a look at the map in the station before humping in and decide which direction you want to take. Santa Teresa is a quiet neighbourhood and more or less safe, so don’t be afraid to wander around.

Each ticket costs R$ 0.60, making the streetcar the cheapest way of transportation in the city.

Parque das Ruínas

Taking any of the two lines of the bondinho, if you descend in the first stop, you’ll be very close to this park that sometimes has expositions and live music.

It’s highly recommended to go to the last floor to have a wide open panoramic view.

Entrance: free. Closed on Mondays.

Museu Chacara do Ceu

You can access the Museu from Parque das Ruínas. It’s a small museum with a permanent collection that includes paintings, books, and ongoing exhibitions.

Don’t miss the garden and the open view of the city!

Entrance: free on Wednesdays. Closed on Tuesdays (but you can still visit the garden!)

http://www.museuscastromaya.com.br

Escada Colorida

It's the stairway created and made by Carlos Selaron as a present to Rio de Janeiro that connects Santa Teresa and Lapa. 

Made with tiles from all around, this stairway has turned into a “must see” in the city.

You might find out the artist working, and might have the chance to chat a little bit with him!

http://www.selaron.net/Matos/english/stairway.htm

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Confeitaria Colombo

If you like history, old buildings, coffee and sweet treats, visiting Confeitaria Colombo, in the heart of the centre of Río, it’s something you shouldn’t miss in the city.

The ceilings, the vitraux, the old showcases and sets make this place unique. The wide variety of his menu, even though not the cheapest in town, is well worth it.

You can buy something for the road, or you can sit and enjoy the view and the ambiance that feels like doing a trip in time.

You can also visit the Café do Forte, in the fort of Copacabana. Ideal to go on a sunny day, and enjoy the view of the beach and the Sugar Loaf. But to go to the Café, you have to pay a fee for the fort that has a small art gallery.



Confeitaria Colombo
Rua Gonçalves Dias 32, Centro
Near Uruguaina subway station.

Café do Forte
Praça Coronel Eugênio Franco, 1 - Ipanema


http://www.confeitariacolombo.com.br/


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One Note Samba

There are a lot of bars with samba in Río. Actually, samba is almost in every corner of the city. But if you want to move away from the touristy samba places of Río, Bip Bip, in Copabana is a good choice.

Almost every day of the week, you'll find live music, but sundays is samba night.

Code of Conduct in Bip Bip: there are a few things you should know before visiting this bar:

- It's a really tiny tiny bar, so you must likely will have to stay in the street, and you won't find a place to sit.

- It's all about the music, so if you want to go there to talk and be loud...well, don't go! If you go and talk, you most likely will have everyone shushing you, or even the owner asking you to be quiet, and probably not in the best way. Again, it's all about the music!

- People there, don't applaud, people just snap, to keep the noice to the minimun because of the neighbourhoods.

It begins around 10 pm and it goes until midnight. 

This is a carioca experience you shouldn't miss!

Bip Bip

Rua Almirante Gonçalves, 50

Copacabana

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Trail to Morro da Urca

The Sugar Loaf ("Pão de Açucar") has a great view of the Botafogo Bay, Copacabana and Ipanema, but if you can't afford the bondinho (the teleferic) that goes up there and costs R$ 44, you can do a trail do the first hill, Morro da Urca, . Unfortunately, it's not possible to buy a ticket from Urca to the Sugar Loaf, so if you go walking to Urca, that's the highest you would get.

Anyway, Morro da Urca has also a great view, that includes Leme, Botafogo, Niteroi, and much more, some bars and sometimes even live music! The good news, is that if you go late in the afternoon, to see the sunset, after certain time, you can go down for free in the bondinho.

The trail starts very near to Praia Vermelha, at "Pista de Claudio Cotinho", and the gate to the trail closes at 5 pm.

Enjoy the walk!

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Trail to the Christ

If you're travelling on a budget and/or you like trekking and nature, maybe a good option for getting to the Christ is to do the trail that begins at Lage Park (Rua do Jardim Botanico 414) and save the 36 reais that the train up there cost. You can have a look to the trail map, here.

The entrance to the Park, which is very close to the Botanical Garden, is free. And the entrance to the Christ itself it's around 18 reais. But, even if you don't get in, you'll have a great view of the city and you'll see the Christ from really really close.

The trail takes around two and a half hours, but since it's very hot and humid, I recommend getting there as early as possible. It's also a good idea to bring a lot of water, repellent and a good pair of trekking shoes.

This trail is considered to be somewhat hard. It's uphill, and even though you won't have to do a lot of climbing, it can be a little bit tiring, especially for the weather. Good knows it's that you have some small cascades along the way to freshen up.

The trail is into the Mata Atlantica which characterizes the area of Rio de Janeiro. You'll see a wide variety of trees, monkeys, flowers, and supposedly, snakes.

To come back, you could do the same trail back, or to follow the road that goes through Tijuca Park (which is the world's largest urban forest) and in the entrance of the park, take a van that will leave you at Largo do Machado or one of the buses you have there.

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Playing Safe in Rio

Rio de Janeiro is well known for its beautiful beaches, the gorgeous well built bodies of women and men, for the Christ, the sugar loaf and… insecurity.

One of the first questions that pops into a traveller’s mind is “How (un)safe Rio is?”.

Rio de Janeiro, as well as every other larger city in Latin America, has security issues, and the media doesn’t help. Here you won’t read that Rio is the safest place in the world, you’ll ready some tips to make your stay in Rio as safe as possible.

1. Common Sense. I bet you’ve read this in every article about safety. And it’s ok, since common sense has a great deal to do with safety. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do at home. If you usually don’t come back home walking at night , don’t choose to do it in Rio. If some area doesn’t seem nice, turn around and come back, or stop a cab or a bus. Don’t push a situation. If something doesn’t feel right, just don’t do it!

2. Moving around. Public transportation in Rio is easy to understand. The buses have signs that indicate their routes. Subway is always easy to follow. And taxis are usually safe. Walking around touristy places doesn’t seem to be a problem. And vans always seem to be a cheap and quick way to travel. So, what do you need to have in mind? Having a map it’s always useful. But try always to analyze your map before going out, try to remember where are you going and avoid open your map in public places. It never looks good. Having a glance at google maps, it’s always a good idea, and searching for nearby major points also is.

Taking cabs from the street is usually ok, but if you can ask someone to call one from you, it’s even better. Travelling by bus, it’s usually safer, since it has a fixed route. But be aware of pickpoketeers.

3. You have the look! Ok, so you look like a gringo (for cariocas, a gringo it’s not only someone from USA but every foreigner), so you’ll have to be extra careful. Because it doesn’t matter how much in a budget you are if you are blonde and 2 metres tall. In Rio seems impossible to blind in, but try to get along with local way of dressing.

4. Money, money, money. Do you really need to go to the beach with big notes? I don’t think so! Paying a R$ 2.5 coconut with a 50 note…you’re really nuts! Try to have always small notes, and don’t put all your money in the same place: some in your wallet, some in one pocket, and some in the other. Also, about credit/debit cards: take them with you only if necessary; don’t move around Rio with everything you have on you.

5. Electronics. You want to record memories of your travel, I understand. But be clever and learn to choose the place and the time. Going to “Escada Colorida” at night, and display your very very expensive camera to take a couple of photos with your friend, may make you end up with no memories of the Escada and of the rest of your trip. Be smart, take a look around first and then decide if it’s safe.

6. Lapa. If you’re coming to Rio, and you stay here for the weekend you will go to Lapa in the night. Take with you only the necessary, it’s not an expensive place to spend the night, but the amount of tourists it’s directly proportional to the amount of people ready to put their hands in your purse or pocket. If you’re crossing the arches, be very careful, especially if you see a lot of kids around. Trust me: been there, suffer that.

7. Into the sea. Are you roast beefing at the sand and you’re dying to go and have a refreshing bath but you’re afraid of getting your stuff stolen? Ask someone nearby to take a look at your stuff while you’re at the sea. If you have a small bag or backpack you could even move it to someone else’s area. It won’t only allowed you to go to the sea but it could be an ice breaker and you may end up having company for the rest of the day!

8. Paranoid Android. Being paranoid never works. In fact, sometimes seems to have the opposite effect. If you walk holding your purse or small backpack as if you had 1 million dollar in it, most likely some people might think that you have 1 million dollar in it, and you’ll end up loosing your 50 reais and your cheap cell phone.

This doesn’t mean you can walk around as if you were in heaven (although sometimes Rio gets really near to that), be alert, be aware, but try to relax and enjoy the scenery! You didn’t come all the way to Rio to stay at your room afraid of robberies, right?!

Samba

I'm very fond of Brazil's rhythm I suppose every country has its own rhythm, its own music, a way in which the trees, the sea (if there is one), the sky, the people, the bugs, create a unique sound that defines it. The way the woman walk, the way the people talk, the way the horizon hides between the Mata Atlántica, behind the morros.

If I'm very fond of Brazil's music, for call it something, I'm particularly in loved with the sound of Rio de Janeiro.

How the green that is everywhere makes everything sound so perfect, how the carioca accent goes almost through my eyes, I can almost hear the garlic being fried in every house of the city. I close my eyes and I see Rio. It gets into my blood, and invades every cell of my body - a good kind of infection.

Across the Costa Verde, outside the city, you feel everything. You feel the space that is between everything but yet, you feel connected with everything. The space is music. The space is sound. The space is rhythm. It is what makes everything fit.

You, me, the sea, the trees, the sky... everything.