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Second-largest city in Brazil
Photo: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil, on the South Atlantic coast. Rio is famous for its breathtaking landscape, its laid-back beach culture and its annual carnival. The "Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea" has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The South Zone is made up of Copacabana, Leblon and Ipanema, as well as the districts along Flamengo Beach. Contains some of the more upscale neighborhoods and many of the major tourist sites, such as the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, and Sugarloaf and Corcovado Mountains.
Includes Lapa and Santa Teresa. The city's financial and business centre also has many historic buildings from its early days, such as the Municipal Theatre, National Library, National Museum of Fine Arts, Tiradentes Palace, Metropolitan Cathedral and Pedro Ernesto Palace.
The North Zone includes the Maracanã stadium, Quinta da Boa Vista Park with the city's zoo, the National Observatory and more.
The West Zone is a rapidly growing suburban area including primarily the districts of Jacarepaguá and Barra da Tijuca, popular for its beaches. Most of the Olympics in 2016 were hosted there.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
By plane
Metropolitan area airport code for the two airports of the city is unsurprisingly RIO.
By train
By bus
Several companies offer bus passes to Rio from the rest of the country.
By boat
Ferries (barcas) connect neighbouring Niterói to Rio de Janeiro and arrive at Praça XV (see down), in the city centre.
By car
Rio is connected by many roads to neighboring cities and states, but access can be confusing as there are insufficient traffic signs or indications of how to get downtown.
By boat
By light rail/tram
By cable car
By bus
Buses are still the cheapest and most convenient way to get around the South Zone (Zona Sul) of the city due to the high number and frequency of lines running through the area.
By Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
The BRT is a mass rapid transit system based on multiple-car buses running on exclusive lanes, inspired by similar systems in Curitiba, Bogota and Jakarta. There are three BRT lines:
By subway
The Metrô Rio subway system is very useful for travel from Jardim Oceânico (in Barra da Tijuca) to Downtown and beyond, passing through the Zona Sul beaches including Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana…
By SuperVia suburban trains
Eight lines operating. Five of them from Central station (see above). They can be useful exploring the northern and western suburbs and bairros (quarters).
By taxi
In the areas without subway, trams, SuperVia or BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) use a cab. All legal cabs are yellow with a blue stripe painted on the sides.
By e-hailing
Rio de Janeiro is covered by some e-hailing services, Uber being the largest of them. Notable e-hailing services in the city, are:
By car
Traffic within some parts of Rio can be daunting, but a car may be the best way to reach distant beaches like Grumari, and that can be an extra adventure.
By bicycle
There are Itaú rental bicycle available in Rio: https://bikeitau.com.br (bookable by app).
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Rio De Janeiro · International · GIG
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