The BEST CITY in the WORLD! Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Travel

16 places in this vlog

In the order they appear. Tap a time to play it here, or ↗ to open YouTube at that second.

1. 1:45

   Leblon Beach

   🏢 Landmark · Leblon

   Beachside vendors make caipirinhas for about 20 R and coconut drinks for about 9 R.

2. 2:31

   Tijuca Forest

   🌳 Park · Tijuca

   About a 30-minute Uber ride from Leblon.

3. 2:53

   Cascatinha Taunay

   🏢 Landmark · Tijuca

   Not very crowded, which makes it a quiet stop on a short hike.

4. 4:10

   Sugarloaf Mountain

   🏢 Landmark · Urca

   Buying tickets online lets you skip the lines. The second cable car to the top is the best spot at sunset.

5. 5:29

   Yayá Comidaria

   🍴 Restaurant · Botafogo

   Try the acarajé platter, the shrimp bobó with large-grain rice, and the coconut lemonade.

6. 7:01

   Mirante Dona Marta

   🏢 Landmark · Botafogo

   Arrive around 5:30 am; the helicopter pad side of the parking lot is far less crowded.

7. 8:14

   Christ the Redeemer

   🏢 Landmark · Corcovado

   Even the 7:00 am boarding group from Paineiras faces crowds, and entry started around 7:31.

8. 10:09

   Plage Café

   ☕ Cafe · Jardim Botânico

   Opens at 9:00 with a line for photos. The vegetarian lasagna is made with eggplant instead of noodles.

9. 14:09

   Ipanema Beach

   🏢 Landmark · Ipanema

10. 15:19

    Copacabana Beach

    🏢 Landmark · Copacabana

    The beachfront road closes to cars on Sundays. Milho verde (corn) costs 10 R and açaí cups are under $2.

11. 16:15

    Selarón Steps

    🏢 Landmark · Lapa

    Arriving around 6:30 am means almost no crowds for photos.

12. 17:50

    Parque das Ruínas

    🌳 Park · Santa Teresa

    The uphill walk from the Selarón Steps is very steep, so taking an Uber is the better option.

13. 19:22

    Museum of Tomorrow

    🏛️ Museum · Centro

    Street carts nearby sell açaí for about $2 and accept cards.

14. 22:45

    BB Lanches

    ☕ Cafe · Leblon

    Breakfast for two with juices and pão de queijo came to about 30 R (around $6).

15. 23:42

    Pedra do Telégrafo

    🥾 Hike · Barra de Guaratiba

    Expect about an hour's hike and a 30-minute photo queue. A photographer at the top charges 5 R per photo.

16. 26:37

    Pedra do Sal

    🏛️ Historic site · Saúde

    The samba block party runs every Monday after 8 pm, and stalls take cards.