Let's live the city as its inhabitants do
1. BREAKFAST AT PAO DE QUEIJO, IN SANTA TERESA
Although Santa Teresa is a neighborhood always frequented by tourists, maintains the bohemian essence among its cobblestone streets, colonial houses and lush tropical trees with small macaques that are always grateful for a piece of food. All the social life of the neighborhood is concentrated around Largo dos Guimarães, with its crowded bars at night any day of the week and a party atmosphere that starts in the morning when it's Sunday. To start the day with energy, nothing better than try the best cheese bread in town, a typical product of Minas Gerais very difficult to find with the same quality in Rio de Janeiro and ideal to drink with the good coffee that they offer right there. The exception is a bar that has no name, but is known as açaí (a kind of ice cream made with Amazonian fruit that provides a lot of energy) or cheese bread. . It is right in front of the Cafecito, a very nice but more expensive coffee shop frequented by tourists, on Calle Pascoal Carlos Magno 121.
two. SHOPPING IN THE SAARA
In the center of the city, a commercial district was formed 50 years ago, founded by Arab immigrants who after a time mixed with Jewish merchants. It is a unique place to buy trinkets during the week and the Olympic souvenirs will be there much cheaper than in official stores. Also ideal for those who are short of t-shirts, but above all for the curious who like crowds and 'waste' time browsing all kinds of products. Not suitable for lovers of luxury, haute couture and quality, but it is for creative souls who want to dress up or sew their own clothes with strange fabrics.
Creative-alternative shopping in Saara
3. CCBB EXHIBITIONS
The Cultural Center of Banco do Brasil always has the best exhibitions in the city. Picasso, Dalí and, of course, the best Brazilian artists have passed through there. During the Games, in addition to a sample of Japanese cinema, you can enjoy the exhibition The Triumph of Color, with Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works by 32 different artists, including Van Gogh, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cézanne, Seurat, and Matisse. Brazilians may have a reputation for not being very cultured, but the truth is that the CCBB shows are always packed with people from all walks of life. It is free, closed on Tuesdays and is located in the heart of the city, on Calle Primero de Marzo 66.
Taking advantage of the fact that one is in the area, it is worth taking a look to the imposing facade of the Municipal Theater , neoclassical imitation of the Paris Opera, Have a coffee at the Libreria Cultura or at La Travessa, two of the best café-bookstores in the metropolis , approach the port area and get to know two more museums such as the **Museo de Arte de Rio (MAR) ** or the bizarre Amanhã Museum , in the shape of a spaceship that goes into the sea. Also interesting are **the Caixa Cultural and the MAM (Museum of Modern Art) ** , also in the center; and the **Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC)**. Located in the neighboring town of Niteroi and designed by Óscar Niemeyer, the MAC looks like a circular UFO with windows that offer you a privileged view of the sea and Rioo de Janeiro.
Four. A FOOTBALL MATCH WITH BARBECUE IN THE ATERRO DE FLAMENGO
If there is something that cariocas have very much incorporated into their routine, especially at the weekend, it is sport. And, of course, football takes the cake. The grass soccer fields of Aterro do Flamengo, one of the largest parks in Latin America, operate 24 hours a day. One can arrive at 02:00 and see 22 cariocas having a party, while he friends waiting next door are drinking beer and gorging themselves on meat at a barbecue , known by Brazilians as 'churrasco'. If what you like is basketball, volleyball, running, cycling or even getting pumped up with weights, you can also find that option at this wonderful park full of vines and trees more typical of a remote jungle than of a city of six million inhabitants.
The incredible interior of the CCBB
5. PICNIC AND SUNSET IN LAGOA
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas is a huge lake in the middle of Rio de Janeiro from which you can also see some luxurious apartment blocks and the most sinuous mountains in the city. A very carioca plan is to have a picnic at noon on the lawn and then watch a colorful sunset from there . There are many options: in the park around the lake there are basketball courts, soccer fields, the most fashionable cocktail bars in the city (such as the Palaphita) and the perimeter of the bike path is ideal for pedaling or skating. There are also sea scooters, rowing classes and, during the Games, the Olympic competition in this discipline
6. TRILHA and tapioca in Vidigal
Forget the word hike. Trekking has a specific word in Portuguese that, once you know it, you won't want to use another: trilha. The trilhas are part of the most sporty and adventurous cariocas, since the city is dotted with imposing mountains , or 'morros' as they call them, from which one faints with a good Stendhal Syndrome upon seeing unforgettable views of the city. Gávea, Vista Chinesa, Pedra Bonita and Pan de Azúcar are some of the best. But the Dois Irmãos trilha, inside the Vidigal favela, also offers the chance to get to know the coolest and most peaceful community in Rio de Janeiro . You will feel like a local asking the neighbors where to enter. The clue is that it is well up and close to the Avraão, name given to a small square with a large tree almost at the top. There you can get there by mototaxi (another genuine experience), by taxi or in public vans that go up and down the hill. Once there, you will have to ask again for the Dois Irmãos trail, which it is a bit steep and takes about 45 minutes. On the way back, in the upper part of the favela, avoid the expensive and crowded tourist restaurants recently opened and ask for the Tapioca from Vidigal, a delicious kind of crepe made with a special cassava flour that will restore your strength.
A 'trailha' in Dois Irmãos
7. ALTINHA AND LONGBOARD IN IPANEMA BEACH
This beach may seem like the most touristic and least local plan, but the citizens of Rio really love to visit it for its intense social life. Riding a longboard is already a classic of the bike lane next door, but the most genuine thing is to touch the ball on the seashore at sunset , or play altinha, as the cariocas say. Surfing, bodyboarding, rope bamba, weights and exercise equipment, in addition to caipirinhas, iced mates and grilled cheeses , are other options for a good day at the beach. Near post 9 is the gay point of the beach and on the way to post 10 the 'pretty' people and the alternatives with pasta. At Praia do Diabo, near the Arpoador rock, the best waves in the neighborhood for surfing.
8. ECLIPSE 24 HOURS
It may not be the best restaurant in town, but the Eclipse it is one of the few bars that opens 24 hours a day in Rio de Janeiro. Everything is acceptable and although it is not cheap, the prices are affordable especially at certain times when one is dying to sink one's teeth into a piece of meat , let's say picanha, which is the most traditional. A meat rodizio like Fogo do Chão , where the waiters pass by with punctured meat to eat until they die for a fixed price, is another classic of Rio de Janeiro cuisine. The prato feito (combined plate) and the meal by the kilo are the ideal cheap options for midday. At night, everything is more for the “boteco”, as the snack and beer bars are called. The cod fritter, known as bolinho, or coxinha, a fried dish made of chicken that is quite good, they are the stars among the appetizers, although server highly recommends the aipim with dried meat.
'Altinha' in Ipanema
9. MADUREIRA CHARM DANCE
Far from the typical tourist plans and from the city center, a bridge serves as a shelter for one of the most avant-garde parties in the city. It is the charme dance, an invention of the black outskirts of Rio that creates choreographies on R&B songs in such a spontaneous way that it seems impossible that dozens of people are dancing almost the same thing at the same time with a rhythm and a flow that cannot be endured. But this dance is also a black fashion show as genuine as the old Bronx . You have never seen anything like it in your life. You'll need a lot of rhythm and timing, though, to do more than just stare in amazement and join in the dance.
10. BEERS IN PLAZA SAO SALVADOR AND SAMBA IN LA VACA ATOLADA
The night in Rio never ends and, obviously, one always ends up dropping by the crazy and festive neighborhood of Lapa. There is a most charming little square for before going on a rampage or for those who prefer not to. Plaza Sao Salvador sometimes surprises with concerts or acts of all kinds : Any day of the week between 8pm and 2am has dozens of people standing up drinking beer and chatting, sometimes as a pre-party warm-up, sometimes just as what's called a 'chill' plan. Lapa has its festive epicenter with bars that are full of tourists and then It has three samba circles around it that very few know about. Or, at least, very few tourists. I hope I don't spoil it with this text, but the bar in the Stunned Cow , at Rua Gomes Freire 533, the Peter Theresa , at the end of this same street but in the open air, and the cozy and mythical bohemian bar of the Boteco do Rato are yet to explode. Enjoy them while they are.