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Photo: Halley Pacheco de Oliveira, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A few km north of the beach, this mountainous subtropical forest is Brazil's smallest national park. It is largely hand-planted as much of the original forest was destroyed to make way for coffee plantations. Despite this it contains hundreds of species, many of which are threatened with extinction. Corcovado is to the east of the park but if you really want to appreciate what the park has to offer you have to drive along some windy, hilly roads and get out and hike. This sector of the park can be reached via Rua Boa Vista, and from São Conrado in Zona Oeste.
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The former residence of one of the founders of the Modern Art Museum, this museum hosts a collection of items from the history of Portuguese rule, including furniture, kitchenware, and an array of azulejos, or Portuguese blue tiles. There are also separate collections of Oriental art and Brazilian pop art.
Parque Estadual do Grajaú
This 55-hectare park preserves some of the original forest and serves as a refuge for a wide range of species including marmosets, bush dogs, guinea pigs, parakeets, vultures, and hawks. The park includes the Pedra do Andaraí, symbol of the area.
Estádio do Maracanã
Once the world's highest capacity football venue, it was able to hold nearly 200,000 people. In modern times, the capacity has been reduced because of safety considerations, and the introduction of seating for all fans. It is undergoing renovation, to expand it to hold 80,000. The matches of Rio's football clubs like Flamengo or Fluminense are usually far from full, so go along and watch a game. There is also a Soccer Museum inside.
If you won't be making it to the Amazon or the Pantanal, this is a good place to see some of Brazil's more exotic creatures.