Rio de Janeiro : Centro

We spent a drizzly day walking around Rio downtown. It was immediately obvious that in recent centuries Brazil had been very wealthy. Money came from sugar, coffee, rubber, gold, and diamonds, worked by slave and immigrant labor. As such business models are not sustainable, it is apparent that Rio struggles to keep up with its vast legacy.

From very near our apartment in Copacabana we took the Metro from General Osorio Station to Carioca Centro. John rode for free as he's 60+.


Centro has more than a few monumental buildings. Our route started at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian.






The National Library interior is amazing. And it's near a tram stop.






The Library faces the Teatro Municipal and its eye-opening basement Assyrian Room (Salão Assyrio).




Overlooking both the National Library and the Teatro Municipal is the Convent of Santo Antônio.




We happened to walk by the landmark and renowned Confeitaria Colombo coffeehouse where folks were queueing.


Tasty soba noodles for lunch at All Sabor Japa.




The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading (Reading Room) is filled floor to ceiling with books, and folks taking selfies. ;-)




Our favorite Art Nouveau building in Rio is the Casas Franklin Building, now a home goods store.




At one point we found ourselves on the narrow lanes of the SAARA Shopping District as we walked towards Central Station.




The Palácio Duque de Caxia, a military headquarters, sits across the plaza from the Rio Central Station with its iconic clock tower.




Mural by Brazilian Artist Rita Wainer.


The Brazilian Modernist Federal Police Headquarters, formerly the National Press Building, was designed by a team of architects including Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, with supervision from Le Corbusier.


The fabulously ornate interior of the São Bento Monastery. Wow!


There was a concert in progress in the largely empty Igreja Candelária. Check out the angels supporting the two pulpits.


The Legislative Assembly Room for the State of Rio de Janeiro in the Palácio Tiradentes


The Interior of the Antiga Se (Old Cathedral).


And finally, after 22K steps, we took the Metro back to General Osório Station.

Rio de Janeiro: Intro (Updated on 24 October 2025)

We had a mixed visit to Rio.

• Rio de Janeiro is one of the top destinations for the whole continent of South America. We waited this long to visit because I was particularly concerned about crime; therefore, we were suitably cautious. In the end, we did not see anything particularly suspicious that we hadn't encountered somewhere else in the world. Yes, we walked through some of the poorer bairros, like Gamboa (below); no hassles, everyone seemed to be working, or headed somewhere.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The weather was bad. We had a lot of clouds, fog, and rain. We scraped our plans to hike to various viewpoints. On the sunniest day we took a ride-hail to the Mirante Dona Marta. As popular as the viewpoint is, there was a three-toed sloth right above the path (video 2nd below or click here), and spectacular views to Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf,and more. We were very satisfied.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The 2016 Summer Olympic Games were held in Rio and the city has successfully maintained some of its venues. We circumnavigated the Rowing venue at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas (1st and 2nd below), had a view of the Olympic Stadium from Mirante Dona Marta (3rd below), and walked along the monumental mural "Etnias" (Ethnicities) by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra (4th below).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• There is a lot of beauty in Rio. However, after a week, the assaults of urine smell were too frequent for me, even in Copacabana and Ipanema. Nothing turns me off a city more than the smell of urine in the streets. It epitomized the lack of everything I hold dear; dignity, public health, social services....

Rio might have come a long way. It still has a long way to go.

Brazil: Paraty

Paraty is a colonial town between Sao Paulo and Rio, therefore very popular. Founded to ship gold mined from Minas Gerais, Paraty took a backseat when gold was later routed through Rio. As a result the old center was preserved, with cobblestone streets and colorfully painted colonial houses which are especially beautiful at sunrise (1st below).









Another interesting feature of Paraty is that some streets are designed to be flooded at the monthly highest tides, washing out street debris. What an idea! Though we happened to be there during the harvest moon, the daytime high tide didn't produce much flooding. We were not motivated enough to go out at 2am.





I found it curious that Paraty didn't get on the UNESCO list until 2019. On our Brazil itinerary, there are four other colonial towns that have been on the UNESCO list longer. We'll have to see whether we agree. We rather like Paraty. It's very genuine. Our Airbnb is on the next block from the cobble streets, not at all touristy, it might as well be another town. Below is the view from the window of our Airbnb.



We squeezed in a beautiful coastal walk, from Vila Oratorio to Sono Beach (photos below), before the weather turned very hot (95F). Traveler's Tip: See the bus schedule to Vila Oratio 5th below.