Mureta da Urca

In Urca, along Avenida João Luís Alves, a low wall separates the sidewalk from Guanabara Bay. This is the Mureta da Urca, one of Rio’s best-loved late-afternoon spots: locals and visitors sit on the wall with a beer and a snack, facing Botafogo Cove, waiting for sunset. The seawall runs for about a kilometer, from the Quadrado da Urca to near the Fortaleza de São João, where the city was founded in 1565.

Urca is a quiet residential neighborhood of tree-lined streets and low buildings at the foot of Urca Hill and Sugarloaf. Much of its flat land was reclaimed from the sea: the landfill began shortly after World War I, and the first houses went up in 1922. The name probably comes from the hill, whose profile recalls the rounded hull of an urca, an old type of cargo ship; the story that it is the acronym of the landfill company is disputed, as the name already appears on 18th-century maps.

Its bohemian streak goes back a long way. From 1933 to 1946, the Cassino da Urca operated here, the high point of Rio’s nightlife, where stars such as Carmen Miranda, Emilinha Borba and Dalva de Oliveira took the stage. The casino closed when gambling was banned in Brazil in 1946. The building, beside the small Praia da Urca at the start of the same avenue, later housed the studios of TV Tupi and is still standing.

The wall’s traditional supplier is Bar Urca, on Rua Cândido Gaffrée, open since 1939. On the ground floor, the counter serves codfish fritters (bolinhos de bacalhau), shrimp empadas and other finger food, washed down with ice-cold beer; upstairs is the restaurant. The ritual is simple: order at the counter, cross the street and settle on the wall, facing the water. Other bars nearby also keep the seawall supplied.

The highlight is sunset. From the wall, the view takes in Botafogo Cove, Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado, Flamengo Park, Downtown and, across the bay, Niterói. Fishing and pleasure boats bob at anchor, anglers cast their lines and, late in the afternoon, the sun sinks behind the mountains as the sky turns orange and pink over the water.