Worth getting out of bed for
Highlights the best Rio De Janeiro has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.
- Viewpoint
- Take a cable-car ride up to the granite dome of Sugar Loaf Mountain, 369m above Rio, to see a dazzling vista of the whole city and Guanabara Bay. Or, for the ultimate view, take a helicopter ride along the coast and around Christ the Redeemer (www.helisight.com.br).
- Arts and culture
- Among Rio’s state-funded theatres, the Teatro Nelson Rodrigues (2262 5483) is home to the brilliant Intrépida Trupe dance company. The Instituto Moreira Salles (www.ims.com.br) is among the city’s most vital cultural centres, with excellent visual arts, music and film. There are countless venues where you can experience samba, that essential expression of Brazilian joie de vivre: in Lapa, try Carioca da Gema (www.barcariocadagema.com.br) for live music and sexy sambistas, or Clube dos Democráticos (2252 4611) on Rua do Riachuelo for Carnival pleasures in a 19th-century ballroom.
- Something for nothing
- The Centro Cultural Parque das Ruinas (2252 0112), a cultural centre in a neoclassical mansion in Santa Teresa, has live jazz shows on Thursday nights. And, hey, a day on the beach costs nada. Don’t go home without… buying half a dozen pairs of Havaiana flip-flops, dancing all night to bossa nova beats and competing fiercely at beach football.
- Shopping
- The streets of Leblon and Ipanema are studded with scores of appealing shops; the best womenswear boutiques are on Rua Maria Quiteria and Rua Garcia d’Avila. In the Centro, the teeming Saara market, near Uruguaiana metro, is open for business every day except Sunday, with anything and everything for sale; even more enticing is the nearby Camelódromo market, a labyrinth of little stalls selling baile funk CDs, designer knock-offs and much more. Rua do Lavradio in Lapa is home to both antiques shops and contemporary furniture showrooms.
- Daytripper
- Head for the hills of Petrópolis, an hour’s drive out of the centre, where well-to-do Cariocas escape at weekends for cool mountain breezes and general chilling out among leafy streets and moguls’ mansions. While you’re there, visit the Imperial Museum, or find cut-price cotton pieces at the textile factory outlets on Rua Teresa.
- Best beach
- The city beaches are numbered, one to 12, and it’s all very tribal: Posto 7 in Ipanema is surfer central; Posto 11 in Leblon is family- and couple-friendly. Posto 10 is a sporty spot; while Ipanema’s Posto 9 is where the beautiful and the hip hang out. To escape the crowds, you’ll have to make a sortie to Niterói and the gorgeous strands at Piratininga or Camboinhas.
- Perfect Picnic
- Assemble a feast at one of Rio’s excellent farmers’ markets (feiras livres) – try Praça Nossa Senhora da Paz in Ipanema on a Friday morning, or the gourmet market on Saturdays on Rua Frei Leandro in the Jardim Botânico (3874 1808; www.jbrj.gov.br). Take it to the beach (see below) or on a ramble through Tijuca Forest.
- Walks
- Rio isn’t short of green lungs. Open daily until 5pm, Parque da Cidade is set on the edge of Gavéa, extending up into the Tijuca Forest, 116 acres of green space networked with trails and paths. Around Lagoa de Freitas, Parque Cantagalo and Parque Patins are popular for strolling and jogging, with kiosks and live music at night.
- Activities
- Surf’s up – try Leblon, Ipanema or Copacabana or, better, head to Prainha (ask at your hotel about the Surf Bus from Largo do Machado). Runners can hit the beach, too, for sand-enhanced workouts (try to avoid the 9am rush, though). Climbers are surrounded by tempting ascents, with 50 routes up the Sugar Loaf alone – Climb in Rio (www.climbinrio.com) can guide both beginners and rock-face veterans to their own cliffhanger moment. Contact Rio Hiking (www.riohiking.com.br) for all manner of outdoor adventures, from horse riding to hang-gliding.
Diary
January Dia de São Sebastiao on the 20th sees a procession and a huge concert on Copacabana beach. February Carnival! Rio hosts the world’s biggest party, no contest (www.rio-carnival.net). June Fiery, folkloric fun across the city for the Festas Juninas. July Arte de Portas Abertas, when the artists of Santa Teresa open their doors to the public (www.chavemestra.com.br). September–October Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival (www.festivaldorio.com.br), aka Festival do Rio, the most prominent movie mash-up in South America. December Reveillon: two million people dressed in white hit Copacabana beach for fireworks and New Year’s Eve fun.
