Rio de Janeiro (city)/Zona Sul
From World travel guide
The South Zone of Rio de Janeiro is usually where most of the tourists (and there are always lots of them) stay. Lots of hotels, from the fancy 5 stars like Copacabana Palace to hostels, line up in the neighborhoods of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, also three famous beaches.
A little closer to downtown, the Gloria, Catete, Botafogo, and Flamengo neighborhoods are pleasant and full of carioca character.
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Get in
Most parts of the Zona Sul are easily accessible by bus or metro. The subway currently runs as far as Siqueira Campos, by Copacabana, but it will eventually be extended to Ipanema.
See
Sugar Loaf mountain (Pão de Açucar) is in Urca, a very quiet neighborhood just a few minutes from Copacabana. It is a pretty secure place too, thanks to the army base on the foot. The cable car takes you up to the breathtaking sight of the entire city, and also the neighboring city of Niteroi, just across the Guanabara Bay.
Corcovado mountain, capped by the 38m statue of Jesus Christ (Cristo Redentor) has been the vantage point for countless picture postcards and travel posters through the ages. It provides a sweeping panorama from the interior of Guanabara bay to the north, to Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas (Rodrigo de Freitas' Lagoon) to the south. Corcovado can be reached by car or by train, on a ride through Floresta da Tijuca (Tijuca Forest), an island of original subtropical forest in the middle of one of the most populous cities of South America.
You can also visit the forest, and see its many waterfalls and hiking trails. Most of the paths are well-marked, but you can get maps and guides as well. There are many hiking tracks on the city, leading to places like Corcovado, Sugar Loaf and others, all with different views of the city.
Museums
- Museu Carmen Miranda in Flamengo Park has an amusing collection of photographs, posters, musical recordings, and of course gigantic fruity hats worn by the singing star. The building looks like an abandoned space capsule in the middle of the park.
- Museu da República (Palácio do Catete), Rua do Catete 153, 285-6350. The former presidential palace is now a historical museum, with an adjacent art gallery and small theater that occasionally shows free movies. Located right next to Metro Catete station.
- Museu Villa-Lobos [1], Rua Sorocaba, 200 - Botafogo. Heitor Villa-Lobos wrote about 1000 pieces and is considered one of the world's greatest composers. The museum collection includes a number of personal items, musical instruments, pictures and hand-written work by Villa-Lobos.
Do
Beaches
Perhaps the best thing do in Rio is nothing, while sitting on its glorious beaches. Of the two most famous, Copacabana and Ipanema, the former gets a bit more crowded (perhaps that will change when the Metro gets extended). Both have spectacular mountains to the side -- Sugar Loaf to the east of Copacabana, and Dois Irmãos ("The Two Brothers") to the west of Ipanema.
Though famous, the South Zone beaches aren't always appropriate for bathing. Leblon and Ipanema are usually OK; Copacabana sometimes has problems, especially after very rainy days. It is advised to ask your lifeguard.
Parks
The lagoon (Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas) in Ipanema is popular for jogging. After you've completed the 7.5-km circuit, you can retire to your luxurious Ipanema penthouse apartment-- or just imagine it.
Eat
Churrasco
- Porcao, Rua Barao da Torre 218, Ipanema, 522-0999. Attractive salad bar (with sushi and prepared seafood dishes as well).
- Marius, Av. Atlantica 290, Leme, 2542 2393.
Drink
- Garota de Ipanema, Rua Vinicius de Moraes and Rua Prudente de Morais, Ipanema. There's no better place in Rio, Brazil, or even the world to watch bathing beauties stroll by than this cafe-bar, named after the song which according to legend was written here in 1962.
- Academia da Cachaça [2], 26 Rua Conde de Bernadotte, Leblon. With over 500 varieties, this is the place to start your studies of Brazil's national drink.
Buy
- There's a hippie market every Sunday at Praça General Osório, at the east end of Ipanema. You will find everything from soapstone Redentor statues to swizzle sticks carved with Amazonian birds in one place here, and there are several vendors selling the same thing so you can have fun bargaining.
- The Hype Babalonia at the Ipanema race track on Saturdays has some more upscale merchandise and you will find fewer tourists here, and is a place where middle class cariocas do some bargain shopping.
If you'd rather avoid the menacing guards at shopping malls in Barra da Tijuca, the upscale galleries in Ipanema are loaded with boutiques of every kind. The atmosphere here is much more pleasant, and you won't think you've been teleported to the Mall of America. Grittier galleries can be found in Copacabana, thronging with Bermuda-short and t-shirt clad American and European tourists. The denizens on the street outside the galleries can easily trip-up the unwary tourist, and although the police patrols this area heavily, and crimes tend to be petty, it's a hassle best to be avoided, when there are better alternatives.
Sleep
Hostels
- Che Legarto, Rua Anita Garibaldi 87, 0xx21-2556-2776, [3]. One of the most popular backpackers spots in Copacabana. Double/Dormbed cost R$90/R$32 per night for HI-members and R$100/R$38 for non-members. Discounts for longterm stays or large groups.
Hotels
- Hotel Vermont, Rua Visconde de Piraja 254, 522-0057. Given its superb location in the heart of Ipanema, it's a real bargain with room rates as low as $R100. Affiliated with the nearby San Marco Hotel and Hotel Carlton in Leblon.
- Hotel Hispano Brasileiro, Rua Silveira Martins 135, 265-5990. On a tree-lined side street off Rua do Catete, inexpensive and pleasant.
- Hotel Monte Blanco, Rua do Catete 160, 225-0121. Excellent location, just steps away from the Metro station and across from the Museu da República, but the rooms could be nicer.
Rentals
- Rental apartment, Ipanema Beach, 55-21-2239-3089 (email: Patricia bromirsk@matrix.com.br). Two bedrooms, living room, American kitchen w/dish washer , laundry facility, bathroom w/bathtub. All rooms with air-conditioning. 24 hour doorman and near by stores. Quiet, comfortable and two blocks from Ipanema Beach
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