CORCOVADO
Considered one of the 7 new wonders of the world, Christ Statue is Rio’s most visited monument, situated at 710 meters above sea level on the top of Corcovado mountain, where you can have a 360-degree view of the city.
It was a gift from the Catholic Church to celebrate 100 years of Brazilian independence from Portugal. With its open arms faced to the entrance of Guanabara Bay, where the foreign people used to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on their boats, it’s a symbolic way to welcome tourists.
PRIVATE TOUR IN RIO DE JANEIRO
Some of the main attractions of Rio are showed below. My private tours take 5 or 7 hours, so, let me know which places you would like to visit in order to suggest you a special itinerary. You can include another attraction out of this list.
SUGAR LOAF
It is a 396-meters mountain where you have a panoramic and breathtaking view of Copacabana, Botafogo and Flamengo beaches, downtown, Niteroi and Guanabara Bay. A cable-car takes you firstly to Urca mountain and then to Sugarloaf. It’s also possible to reach Urca mountain by hiking through the forest. After visiting Sugar Loaf, I’ll be happy to show you the beautiful neighborhood of Urca with its amazing view of Guanabara Bay.
SANTA TERESA &
LAPA STEPS
The most bucolic and picturesque district of Rio, Santa Teresa has a relaxing atmosphere with its old and preserved architecture, ateliers, cozy bars and restaurants. We’ll walk through Largo dos Guimarães, the main part of the neighborhood, and then visit the Lapa staircase, made by the chilean artist called Jorge Selarón, with 2.000 colorful tiles from all over the world. If you want to try a typical brazilian food like "feijoada", Santa Teresa has great options of restaurants!
TIJUCA FOREST
Have a real tropical experience, visit one of the biggest urban rainforest in the world, in the heart of Rio! You’ll have great views of the city, you'll be able to see a waterfal, big trees, interesting plants and maybe monkeys, birds and racoons. All of this in a peaceful place! If you like hiking (easy or moderate ), Tijuca Forest has nice options!
BOTANICAL GARDEN
Considered one of the most important in the world, it was created in 1808 by the Portugal King Dom João VI as a site for acclimatizing exotic plant species from Asia. The park contains more than 6.000 species of tropical plants and 140 of birds, many accustomed to human and consequently easy to be observed. We will also see the 134 royal palm trees in a 750m line, besides the orchid and Bromeliad greenhouses.
DOWNTOWN
Explore the historical center of the city that has been the capital of Brazil for over 200 years. Let's visit the Cathedral with its exotic conical shape, Cinelandia square with its important buildings as Municipal Theatre, Legislative Palace and National Library, then we'll walk through Largo da Carioca, having a stop at Café Colombo. Other possible itinerary (weekend) is driving through downtown, seeing from the car a few important places and atactions as Praça XV, CCBB and Candelaria church,. Then we ll visit São Bento Monastery, mural ETNIAS (the biggest graffiti in the world) and the Museum of tomorrow (outside)
MARACANÃ
Considered the mecca of football, the visit to Maracanã stadium is a must for any lover of this sport. It was the place where the greatest player in the world, Pelé, scored his thousandth goal. Opened in 1950 to host the World Cup, it received 200.000 fans in its final. Currently, after being renovated, Maracanã reduced its audience to 74.000, eventhough, still remains the largest stadium in Brasil. Let´s get to know a little bit of its history, visit the dressing room where Brazilian team was and also take the field!
PEDRA BONITA
Do Christ and Sugar Loaf seem too obvious and touristic for you? Visit the world renowed gliding ramp at Pedra Bonita mountain, where people have an unique experience in their lives. If you like nature, we can have a 30 minutes hiking through the forest to reach the mountaintop of 700 mettres, where we´ll see very close the famous “Pedra da Gávea”, “São Conrado” and “Barra da Tijuca” beaches.
