CorcovadoNear Mirante
Christ the Redeemer
Right next door: the Corcovado train leaves from Cosme Velho, a short walk from Mirante, and climbs through the forest to the 1931 statue, 710 meters up.
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Mirante’s guide
Things to do in Rio
The city’s classics, picked for guests staying in Laranjeiras: from samba circles to forest trails, from the beach to gilded Baroque.
6 places
Postcard views
Rio’s great symbols — and some of them are very close to Laranjeiras.
Urca
Sugarloaf Mountain
The 1912 cable car climbs in two stages to the summit, with views of the bay, Copacabana and Christ the Redeemer. Sunset is the most sought-after moment.
Santa TeresaNear Mirante
Santa Teresa and its tram
The neighboring hill of mansions, studios and lookouts — and of the yellow tram that has crossed the Lapa Arches since 1896.
Lapa · Santa TeresaNear Mirante
Selarón Steps
215 steps covered in thousands of tiles from dozens of countries — the life’s work of Chilean artist Jorge Selarón.
Tijuca National Park
Mirante Dona Marta
Free and less known: facing Sugarloaf and Botafogo Bay, with Christ the Redeemer right above.
Alto da Boa Vista
Vista Chinesa
A 1903 Asian-style pavilion in the middle of the forest, with the Lagoon, Christ the Redeemer and the ocean below.
9 places
Nightlife & bohemia
Rio heads out into the streets at night: samba and choro circles, bars and live-music venues.
LapaNear Mirante
Lapa e Arcos da Lapa
The heart of Rio’s bohemian life since the early 20th century. On Friday and Saturday nights the streets around the Arches fill up, and the venues on Rua do Lavradio and Rua Joaquim Silva play samba, choro and forró.
LapaNear Mirante
Rio Scenarium
A mansion on Rua do Lavradio packed with thousands of antiques, now one of Lapa’s best-known samba and choro venues.
LapaNear Mirante
Circo Voador
The concert tent beside the Arches since 1982: a historic stage for Brazilian rock and parties of every style.
Santa TeresaNear Mirante
Largo dos Guimarães
Bars with a view, live music and an artists’-village feel at the top of the hill, where the tram passes by.
LaranjeirasNear Mirante
Praça São Salvador
Right next door. The leafy square, with its bandstand and bars all around, is Laranjeiras’ meeting point — and on some days it hosts choro and samba circles.
LaranjeirasNear Mirante
General Glicério street market
Just around the corner: a Saturday market with food stalls, pastel and, usually, live chorinho.
Urca
Mureta da Urca
The low bayside wall where Rio gathers in the late afternoon, with beer and codfish fritters from Bar Urca, open since 1939, and the sunset over the cove.
Copacabana
Beco das Garrafas
The cradle of bossa nova on Rua Duvivier, where tiny clubs saw Elis Regina, Jorge Ben and many others at the start of their careers.
Centro
Arco do Teles e Travessa do Comércio
Colonial lanes by Praça XV that turn into an after-work meeting spot, with tables out on the sidewalk.
5 places
Samba
Samba was born in Rio, in the backyards of “Little Africa”, and today lives in samba-school halls, street circles and the Sambadrome.
Saúde
Pedra do Sal
A symbol of “Little Africa”, where Pixinguinha, Donga and João da Baiana used to meet. Listed as heritage in 1984, it hosts open-air samba circles, usually on Monday and Friday nights.
Saúde · Gamboa
Little Africa and Tia Ciata
From the port district to Praça Onze lived the Bahian “aunties” who opened their homes to music. In Tia Ciata’s backyard “Pelo Telefone” was born — registered by Donga in 1916 and considered the first recorded samba.
Centro
Sambadrome
Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1984, it hosts the samba schools’ Carnival parades in front of tens of thousands of people.
Samba school halls
Samba school rehearsals
In the months before Carnival, the top-league schools open their halls to rehearse the samba they will take to the Sambadrome — the best way to feel the drums up close.
All over town
Carnival street parties (blocos)
During street Carnival, hundreds of blocos take over the city. The oldest, Cordão da Bola Preta, has paraded Downtown since 1918; in Santa Teresa, look for the Bloco das Carmelitas.
6 places
Beaches
Each beach has its own personality. Bring only what you need, wear sunscreen and check water quality on the Inea website.
Copacabana
Copacabana
The world’s most famous 4 km of sand, with Burle Marx’s wave promenade, beach kiosks and the Fort at the far end.
Leme
Leme
The quietest stretch, at the start of Copacabana. The Caminho dos Pescadores (Fishermen’s Path) runs around the hill by the sea.
Ipanema
Arpoador
Between Copacabana and Ipanema. In the late afternoon everyone climbs the rock to watch the sunset — and applauds when it disappears.
Ipanema
Ipanema
The beach of bossa nova, with the Dois Irmãos hills behind it. Each lifeguard post has its own crowd; Posto 9 is the most famous.
Leblon
Leblon
Ipanema’s continuation, more family-friendly, with the Mirante do Leblon lookout at the end of the beachfront.
Urca
Praia Vermelha
Small and calm, at the foot of Sugarloaf, right next to the cable car station.
8 places
Nature
One of the world’s largest urban forests, trails with stunning views and waterfalls minutes from the city.
Tijuca National Park
Tijuca Forest
Trails, lookouts and waterfalls in a forest replanted in the 19th century. Pico da Tijuca, just over 1,000 meters high, is the highest point of the range.
Tijuca National Park
Tijuca waterfalls
The Cascatinha Taunay is right by the road; other falls, such as the Cachoeira das Almas, are short walks away. Bring water and go in the morning.
Jardim Botânico
Botanical Garden
Founded by King João VI in 1808, with the famous avenue of imperial palms planted in 1842, an orchid house and some 6,500 species.
Jardim Botânico
Parque Lage
A 1920s mansion with a courtyard pool and Christ the Redeemer above, at the foot of Corcovado. A steep trail to the statue starts here — best done with a guide.
São Conrado
Pedra Bonita e Pedra da Gávea
Pedra Bonita has a short trail and the hang-gliding ramp over São Conrado; Pedra da Gávea (844 m) is one of the city’s most challenging hikes.
Vidigal
Morro Dois Irmãos
A short, steep trail that starts in Vidigal and ends at one of the best views of Ipanema and the Lagoon.
Lagoa
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas
A lagoon ringed by mountains, with a cycle path of about 7.5 km, kiosks and pedal boats.
FlamengoNear Mirante
Flamengo Park (Aterro)
A bayside park opened in 1965, landscaped by Burle Marx: great for walking and cycling with a view of Sugarloaf.
5 places
Food & drink
Classic spots, markets and the street flavors every carioca knows.
Centro
Confeitaria Colombo
Founded in 1894, with mirrors brought from Antwerp and art nouveau salons. Coffee and Portuguese pastries here are a trip back to the Belle Époque. There is a branch at Copacabana Fort.
GlóriaNear Mirante
Glória Sunday market
Rio’s largest street market, held every Sunday on Avenida Augusto Severo for more than a century: fruit, fish and flowers, pastel with sugarcane juice, immigrant cooking and samba circles.
São Cristóvão
Feira de São Cristóvão
Brazil’s Northeast in Rio since 1945: regional food, forró and improvised repente songs at the Luiz Gonzaga Center of Northeastern Traditions.
Ipanema
Bar Garota de Ipanema
The former Bar Veloso where, as the story goes, Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes watched the young woman who inspired “The Girl from Ipanema” (1962) walk by.
All over town
Rio flavors
Feijoada on Saturdays, fresh juice on every corner, açaí, market pastel and, on the sand, iced mate with Globo biscuits — everyday Rio classics.
9 places
Culture
Museums, libraries and theaters that tell the story of Rio and Brazil.
Centro
Real Gabinete Português de Leitura
One of the world’s most beautiful libraries: a Neo-Manueline reading room opened in 1887 and some 350,000 volumes — the largest collection of Portuguese works outside Portugal.
Cinelândia
Theatro Municipal
Opened in 1909 and inspired by the Paris Opera. Catch a performance or take the guided tour.
Cinelândia
National Library
Born from the royal library brought over by King João VI, it is the largest in Latin America. Its 1910 building stands on Cinelândia square.
Praça Mauá
Museum of Tomorrow
A science museum designed by Santiago Calatrava, opened in 2015 in the revitalized port area.
Praça Mauá
MAR – Museu de Arte do Rio
Across from the Museum of Tomorrow, it tells Rio’s story through art; its rooftop looks out over the bay.
Cinelândia
National Museum of Fine Arts
One of the main collections of 19th- and 20th-century Brazilian art, a few steps from the Theatro Municipal.
Centro
CCBB – Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil
Exhibitions, cinema and theater in a historic Downtown building — often home to the city’s most popular shows.
Gávea
Instituto Moreira Salles
A modernist house with Burle Marx gardens and one of Brazil’s great photography collections — the source of several old photos on this site.
Ipanema
Ipanema Hippie Fair
Every Sunday since the late 1960s: crafts, art and food on Praça General Osório.
7 places
Historic sites
Brazil’s capital for almost two centuries, Rio holds traces of the colony, the Empire and the Republic.
Praça XV
Paço Imperial
Home of the colonial governors, then palace of King João VI and the emperors. Pedro I declared he would stay in Brazil here (1822) and Princess Isabel signed the abolition of slavery (1888). Today it is a cultural center.
CateteNear Mirante
Catete Palace – Museum of the Republic
Seat of the Presidency from 1897 to 1960, where Getúlio Vargas died in 1954. The gardens are open to the public — a few minutes from here.
Saúde
Cais do Valongo
The main landing wharf for enslaved Africans in the Americas: between 500,000 and one million people arrived here from 1811 to 1831. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2017.
Guanabara Bay
Ilha Fiscal
A small neo-Gothic castle in the bay, stage of the Empire’s last ball in November 1889, days before the Republic was proclaimed. The Navy runs boat visits.
Cosme VelhoNear Mirante
Largo do Boticário
Colonial-style houses beside the Carioca River in neighboring Cosme Velho — close to the Corcovado train station.
Urca
São João Fortress
Marks the spot where Estácio de Sá founded the city in 1565, between Sugarloaf and Cara de Cão Hill.
Centro
National Historical Museum
Brazil’s history told in a complex of colonial buildings near Praça XV.
7 places
Churches
From gilded Baroque to modernism: art, architecture and faith.
Centro
São Bento Monastery
One of Brazil’s Baroque masterpieces, its interior covered in gilded carving. The Sunday morning mass with Gregorian chant is famous.
GlóriaNear Mirante
Glória do Outeiro Church
A Baroque jewel from 1739 on a hilltop above the bay, lined with Portuguese tiles. Members of the imperial family were baptized here.
Largo da Carioca
Santo Antônio Convent and São Francisco da Penitência
An early-17th-century Franciscan complex above Largo da Carioca; the church of the Third Order has one of the most stunning gilded interiors in Brazil.
Centro
Candelária Church
An imposing church built from 1775 onward, with a monumental dome, at the head of Avenida Presidente Vargas.
Centro · LapaNear Mirante
Metropolitan Cathedral
A 75-meter concrete cone completed in 1979, with colorful stained glass running from floor to top. It stands next to the Lapa Arches.
Santa TeresaNear Mirante
Santa Teresa Convent
A Carmelite convent from 1750 that gave its name to the hill and the neighborhood, right above the Arches.
Penha
Penha Sanctuary
Atop a rock in the North Zone, reached by a staircase of 382 steps — a traditional pilgrimage climb.
4 places
Football
In Rio, football is serious business — and the city has some of the most historic stadiums in the world.
Maracanã
Maracanã
Built for the 1950 World Cup, stage of the “Maracanazo”, the 2014 World Cup final and Pelé’s 1,000th goal (1969). Guided tours and matches almost every week.
LaranjeirasNear Mirante
Laranjeiras Stadium
Here in the neighborhood: Fluminense’s stadium hosted Brazil’s first national-team match in 1914 and its first title in 1919.
São Cristóvão
São Januário
Vasco da Gama’s stadium, opened in 1927. The club made history in 1924 by standing up for the Black and working-class players on its team.
Copacabana · Ipanema
Footvolley and “altinho” on the beach
On the sand, football turns into altinho (keep-it-up circles) and footvolley, a sport born in Copacabana in the 1960s.
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