Samba show |
Rio
de Janeiro Must
Do's
|
"Must do's" include:
- The two stage cable car ascent of Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar), a total of 396
meters (1299 feet) high. The views are spectacular vistas of the Bay, beaches and
Corcovado. There is a restaurant and several souvenir shops on the middle level; snack bar
at the top. The cars leave every half hour from the terminal in Urca. For the hearty and
the experienced climber, there are 32 established climbing routes.
- The other "must do" is Corcovado (Hunchback) Mountain, rising straight up from
the city some 2,139 feet, with its own set of spectacular vistas. Atop the mountain sits
Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), standing 90 feet high, with arms outstretched,
weighing over 1000 tons. The 3.8 km steam railway was originally opened in Oct 1884 by Dom
Pedro II, and replaced by electric train in 1910. Today a modern cogwheel trains take you
along lust tropical route through Tijuca Forest, and then 205 steps takes you from the
terminal to the statue. En route to the stop are numerous souvenir stalls and one outdoor
refreshment stop.
- Eat dinner at a "churrascaria" (Brazilian barbecue
house - see Gastronomy) and then go to one of Rio's showhouses for a samba extravaganza
show with costumes, dancing and music of the Brazilian samba. It's a loud night but the
costumes (or lack of them) and the razzle-dazzle of colors combined with the samba beat is
not to be missed.
- While away an afternoon "people watching" from a
sidewalk cafe along Copacabana. As Priscilla Ann Goslin writes in How to be a Carioca:
"a Carioca is someone who goes to the beach before, after or instead of work". A
seat at a sidewalk cafe lets you view all these comings and goings to the beach, which is
truly the heart and soul of the city.
After the "must do's" other activities would
include:
- attend a soccer game, at Maracana, Brasil’s temple of
soccer and a colossus among coliseums, a landmark in Rio. It can seat over 100,000, and on
occasion (such as the 1950 World Cup game) squeezed in over 200,000! The fans are
fanatical, cheering their team on in many ways including chanting, singing, shouting,
waving banners, pounding samba drums, exploding firecrackers, throwing toilet paper, beer
and other things - in short, sheer lunacy reigns!
- do a guided jeep tour of a "favela"
- do a guided jeep tour through Tijuca forest and to Santa
Teresa historic neighborhood
- a visit to H. Stern headquarters and workshop
- a visit to the Carmen Miranda museum