Museums & Sites of Rio

This excellent restaurant is a few blocks off Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The food is set up buffet style and you can eat as much as you want and pay for it by the kilo, whether it is steak, fish or deserts. They specialize in Brazilian dishes along with along with a wonderful salad and desert bar. The food is freshly made everyday and the dining experience is wonderful. I actually ate more kilos in deserts than my husband ate in meats!

Meia Pataca has been in buisness for 40 years and is located right across the street from Copacabana Beach. They have indoor as well as outdoor seating with beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean. The atmosphere is friendly and a good place to meet locals and other visitors to Rio. The staff is friendly and most of them speak English...they also have English menus. Their food is outstanding! They serve the best pizza in Rio along with assorted fish delicacies, including "Paella Vallenciana". You can order a sandwhich, omelet or a full blown dinner with all the trimmings, including octopus and lobster. Leave room for desert and make sure to try the "Petite Gateau", a chocolate lovers delight! They also have a full service bar. They are open 7 days a week and are located next to the Hotel Rio Othon Palace.

This restaurant is right across the street from Copacabana Beach. The food is terrific but the restaurant is actually known for the beer. In 2001 two bussinessmen from Rio de Janeiro wanted to add something to the Rio market and restaurants; that was a premium high quality drafted beer that carried all the Brazilian characteristics. They developed the Devassa that is now sold at the Devassa bars and restuarants in Copacabana, Ipanema and other areas of the city around Rio. This high quality beer goes along with a great menu. I had a fish that was baked under a bed of spinach and topped with a fine crust. The steaks and meat dishes are delicious and the rest of the menu offers a wide variety. The atmosphere is friendly and most of the waiters speak English. The service is outstanding. We went for dinner 3 of the 10 nights we spent in Rio.
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I can only give the Rio Othon Palace the best reviews. Our plane landed in Rio early morning and they had our room ready even though it was hours before check-in time. The staff was helpfull in filling all our needs including changing money, room service and setting up a tour. The room was clean when we got there and cleaned everyday. The views of Cococabana Beach were incredible. The swimming pool on the 30th floor was wonderful and also clean. The location is perfect....restaurants and cafes within walking distance. The hotel did have iternet service but the charge was high. No problem though because there was an internet place around the corner...along with a pharmacy and grocery store. The gym next to the pool was nice and clean with a sauna and steam room....they do charge $10 per visit. The restaurant was a little pricey but the food was incredible. The included buffet breakfast had everything from eggs and quiche to bread and rolls, sausages, bacon and all that great tropical fruit. We spent 10 days there and looked at other hotels along Ave. Atlantica....nothing compares. Great place!

Sugarloaf Mountain or Pao de Acucar as it is known, is a natural wonder which was formed 600 million years ago out of granite and quartz. Portuguese navigators used this monolithic morro as an entrance to Guanabara Bay because of it's visibility from the sea. Rising almost 1300 feet above sea level, it's name refers to it's shape and resembles a traditional refined loaf of sugar. The glass cable cars to the top were a dream of engineer Augusto Ramos who was ridiculed by people telling him his only engineering feat would be to a madhouse. In 1908 the first cars were built to the top of the mountain. There are two stages...the first car rises over 700 feet to the top of Urca Hill, affording spectacular views of Corcovado Mountain, the Niteroi Bridge and Guanabara Bay. The second car then rises 1300 feet to the top where you will find a birds eye view of Copacabana. The best time to visit is early in the morning and weekdays before the crowds get in line. But, for a truly majestic experience, visit just when the sun is setting over Rio, the ocean and its shoreline. On the first level, we walked part of the steep trail to different view points. The trees were filled with comical monkeys and the views were spectacular of the ocean and beaches that line the Brazilian coast. There is a small theater on the first level...make sure you watch the fascinating show on the history and building of the cable cars. There also is a small restaurant where you can purchase a snack or cool drink.

Rio's most famous site is the Statue of Christ holding his arms wide open welcoming visitors and blessing the city of Rio. The 100 foot statue covered with mosaic soapstone stands on the hill of Corcovado, which is about 2400 feet high. There is also a small chapel at the base of the statue which is a holy pilgrimage site for Catholics. The peak of Corcovado is a granite dome with steep sides creating a vertical rocky formation. From the train terminus or the road, the foot of the statue is reached by climbing 223 steps. For those that are not up to the climb, the statue can be reached by an elevator. The original design and engineer in charge of the construction was Heitor da Silva Costa, a Brazilian. He worked with French sculptor Paul Landowski, who took almost two years working on the hands and face alone. The statue was built between 1926 and 1931 and is known worldwide. The road to the Christ Redeemer climbs the mountain and switch backs through interesting little communities. There are places to stop to take photos and to walk different short trails to view points of the Christ atop the mountain. Corcovado gets over 300,000 visitors a year, so try to get there early. From the platform on the top, the magestic views stretch as far as Copacabana, Ipanema, the Sugarloaf Mountain and several of Rios Favelas.

Jardim Botanico is located in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro. The gardens were founded by Emperor JoaoVI in 1808. It is one of the top 10 most important botanical gardens in the world and is recognized as a Living Museum in the area of Botany. It is also a UNESCO site and covers 41 acres. The Park holds specimens of Brazilian and world flora such as orchids, tropical trees, bromeliads and royal water platters. It is a true ecological sanctuary. For over 200 years Jardim has continued their botanical research and the conservation of collections. One of the most famous are the Royal Palms which line the entrance. Known as the Avenue of Royal Palms, there is a total of 134 palm trees that span 800 yards. There are waterfalls, the ruins of a gunpowder portal, an environmental museum and an archeological site. The site was once a sugar mill where you can view the excavations and articles they found during the dig. There are also 140 species of birds within the park including a Hummingbird Trail.
The Gardens are open from 8 am to 5 pm, 7 days a week and charge a little over $10 for an entrance fee.

The Favelas are communities of the poor that are basically run by drug lords and gangs. There are over 750 in Rio. We visited Rocinha, the largest with around 100,000 residents. There are no hospitals and if one gets sick, they have to go to the free hospital in the city, only to wait for hours. There are also no police in the Favelas as they were ousted years ago by the drug lords. Good thing as the police were more corrupt than the drug lords in those communities. There was one case where one of the banks were robbed by the police. There is a sense of community among the people that live there and they help out and watch over each other. When someone builds a home in the area, they typically own it after 5 years. There are three stations of gangs. The Red Command is the top dog and rules everyone and everything else. Next is the Third Command which support the Reds. Last is the ADA or Friends of Friends. They are the eyes and ears of the communities and report back to the other two groups. The drug lords do not want any trouble and if someone commits a crime in their community, they take care of it. They carry guns and rifles around which are plainly in site. The average life span of a drug lord is 23 years old. We also visited Vila Conoas, a smaller Favela of about 2000 people. This community is being helped by the government and other organizations even though they are still run by the Red Command. We walked through the area of maze like streets that were more like an alleyway. Houses were connected together or built on top of each other and some had no exterior windows. We walked though the puzzle of alleyways and homes which looked like a child’s experiment of building a city out of Lego Blocks. Doors are colorfully painted and wires are twisted between the buildings for electricity. Life is hard with most of the people making minimum wage at $264 a month. Most people have the impression that the Favelas are dangerous to visit and I would suggest not to go there on your own. This tour company has guides that will give you a rich experience in understanding a part of Brazilian society. They change the mindset on the reputation of life in the Favela. The tour is safe and a look into a part of history that is interesting and very much a part of Brazil. More information can be found on the tour companies website at WWW.favelatour.com.br

The National Historic Museum is equivalent to traveling through the pages of Brazilian history from the time of it’s indigenous people to the landing of the Portuguese on the shores of Brazil and up to the present day. The museum holds permanent and temporary exhibitions, along with hosting several events, courses, seminars, videos and special activities for minors. One of the permanent exhibitions are carriages showing the evolution of techniques and the ideas of comfort of those times. Among them, is the "caleche" or carriage of Emperor D. Pedro II's. The Museum's Historic Archives has 50,000 documents and manuscripts on Brazilian History, and the Library, with 57,000 volumes on arts, music, heraldic, numismatic, genealogy and fashion. The numismatic collection of the National Historical Museum is the largest in its kind in Latin America and one of the world's most important one. It has over 127 thousand items which consist of coins, paper money, medals, decorations & philately. Don't forget to visit the Homeopathic Pharmacy and the Hall of indigenous tribes, their tools and way of life. The museum is open 10:00-5:30 Monday- Friday and 2:00-6:00 on Sat. and Sun. They, along with most museums in Rio, are closed on Mondays.

On a walking tour of the downtown district of Rio, we came upon a church called Irmandade da Santa Cruz dos Militares. Built in 1623 on the grounds of a fortress, this Military Friary of the Holy Cross originated due to the wishes of the officers and soldiers on duty in the fortress to have a chapel they could be eventually buried in. The church is of Mina’s baroque style with rich wood carvings in the altar walls which represent the passion of Our Lord as well as trophies and military ensigns.

We walked to the Mosteiro de Sao Bento or Saint Benedict Monastery and as most monasteries, it was an uphill climb to reach. The monastery was constructed in 1565, twenty years after the founding of Rio. They continue to have daily masses with Gregorian singing. It once housed the nations first law school and is now a place of silence, peace, prayer and activities directed by the monks. The Monastery also has a collage, a school of Theology, the Social Department and more. The building is simple on the outside with the inner architecture being a work of history reflected in it's designs.

Rio de Janeiro is known for Carnival, it's glorious beaches, Copacabana and Ipanema and famous sites such as Corcovado and Sugarloaf Mountains. It is also a city with a wealth of history, interesting museums, churches and monasteries. We spent two days walking the downtown area of the financial district exploring and wished we would have allotted more time to visit all of the remarkable sites that Rio has to offer.
Visited the Candelaria Church…one of the most beautiful and historical churches in the Rio area. The church was built in the 18th century and is richly decorated, combining a Baroque facade with a Neoclassical and Neo-Renaissance inner decoration. . It has a Latin Cross plan, marble lining and bronze engraved doors. The history of the church has been painted on panels in the interior. The area around the church was the site of a massacre in 1993, which brought worldwide attention to the issue of police brutality toward street children in Brazil. The church's history began in the 17th century when a ship called Candelária almost sank during a storm on the sea. When it arrived in Rio, the Spaniards built a small chapel, dedicating it to Our Lady of Candelaria. By the 18th century, the church was in need of repairs and Portuguese engineer, Francisco Roscio built the new church that was dedicated in 1811.