Rio De Janeiro

Top 5 Things To Do In Rio De Janeiro

1.     Sugarloaf Mountain

Located right off the coast, this peak gives a spectacular view overlooking the city. By taking a glass-walled cable car from the ground station, you can reach the summit within 5 minutes. From the top of Sugarload Mountain, you will get all of the beautiful pictures. I recommend you visiting this landmark in the beginning of your stay in Rio, so you can get a visual sense of the different areas of the city.

2.     Christ the Redeemer

When you look up Rio, the first picture you usually see is Christ the Redeemer. It's plastered on billboards, postcards, and travel magazines and truly is a sight to see. It definitely qualifies as one of the top 5 places to see in Rio. There will be thousands of tourists just like you, trying to get the perfect picture, but it’s almost impossible due to the high volume of people that will pass in front of your camera. Therefore, I recommend that you just enjoy the scenery and don’t waste any time on becoming angry at other people destroying your photo session. The best memories are those that you can carry in your mind and heart.

3.     Dance the Samba

If you want to immerse yourself within the Brazilian culture, you should definitely look into taking a Samba class. There are many small dance studios where you can learn and experience this dance and truly enjoy and put your skills to the test when experiencing Brazilian nightlife. Don’t worry if you don’t have any prior experience -- the teachers are very friendly and will get you going. It might sound embarrassing to take a dance class, but imagine how cool it is to come back home and show your friends what you learned. They will definitely be impressed, I promise.

4.     A favela tour

A favela, which means slum in Portuguese, is a low income area where historically the police haven’t been able to take control. Since 2008 a great deal of resources have been allocated to solve this problem and nowadays you can actually visit some favelas. The best way to do it is to ask one of the locals to take you there on a motorbike, which will make you look like you are part of the surroundings and not like a tourist. You have to keep in mind that these areas are still very dangerous and you should not bring any valuables because there is a high risk of getting robbed. There are organized tours as well, which will probably make you feel more safe but you won’t get the full experience and see how the poor inhabitants actually live.

5.     Eat a “Pastel”

Wherever you go, I always want to try some of the local dishes. Brazilian’s local dishes are known for having a lot of specialties but the pastel is the absolute must-eat. It's basically a crispy pie with various kinds of fillings. The most common fillings are beef, cheese and chicken. Make sure you buy it from a small stand in the street, maybe while visiting a favela for the truly local experience. That’s how you receive the best dining experience and probably find the best pastels.

Lots of love,
Carl