Quinta da Boa Vista

I confess, to my shame, that I have only now discovered this great place. Well, I had been to the zoo already but not really to the park or the museum.

The museum (Museu Nacional) is now a museum of natural history, though it used to be the palace of the Portuguese king Dom Joao VI and the home of our emperor's.

Unfortunately none of the rooms is furnished to show the splendor of the court (to see that you would have to go to Petropolis), On the right is the ceiling of the throne room.


There are plenty of dinosaurs, meteorites and indian scenes to enjoy.

The surrounding park is beautiful as well. However, the sign below tells you specifically that it is forbidden to wash your clothes in the lake.

Mosteiro de São Bento

The monastery is a beautiful place of peace and quiet. Building of the church started in 1633 on land given in 1590 to Benedictine monks at the request of local inhabitants. In the historic part of town, it is one of the main monuments of the colonial period.
Its main attraction for us regular people is the Sunday mass with Gregorian Chants. The mass is very well attended by locals and tourists, so it is well worth getting there at least half an hour early.


The image (taken from Wikipedia) is part of a painting by Jules de Sinety.

Igreja da Candelária

An example of baroque colonial architecture the church was built from 1775 to about 1877. As all important structures of the time it faces the bay of Guanabara, as that was the main entry into the city. Being in one of the busiest areas of the city these days it faces constantly a lot of traffic flowing from all parts of the city into the center.
It is still popular however for high society and celebrity weddings

Open 8a-4p M-F, 8a-noon Sa-Su

Praça Pio X
Rio de Janeiro, RJ 20040 Brazil

21 2233 2324

Castelo da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz

The central building of the Fundação Osvaldo Cruz, the Pavilhão Mourisco, is the only neo-moorish building still existing in Rio. The construction started in 1904 on orders of Oswaldo Cruz, a very well known physician, bacteriologist and epidemiologist.
Oswaldo Cruz implemented obligatory vaccins for children against smallpox and many other important measures.
The park is lovely and in it there is a wonderful museum (Museu da Vida).
Good place to visit with children

Who could imagine such a lovely place right on Av. Brasil 4365?

Largo do Boticário

A charming reminder of Old Rio.

The Rio Carioca flows alongside a little square, surrounded by homes which were built in a neocolonial style, in the twenties with……….. retrieved from homes in the center of Rio which were being destroyed to give way to high rises and businesses.

The Rio Carioca is the reason inhabitants of Rio are called Cariocas. In those days the river provided the city with clear waters (no longer so unfortunately). The Tamoyo Indians believed that a bath in the river would increase a women’s beauty and the virility of a man.

One of the houses has a musharabi, much used in Arab countries, a fanciful stonework which hid the women looking out of the windows. Although quite popular in Spain and Portugal at the time, they were forbidden in Brazil by the King Jo’ao VI, because he was afraid of assassins.

Arcos da Lapa

• The Carioca Aqueduct, known as Arcos da Lapa, was built in 1726 (?) to bring water to the city of Rio from the Carioca River, which can still be seen in the "Largo do Boticario".


• In the 1980s it was converted into a bridge to carry the streetcar up to Santa Tereza, now known as neighborhood where artists live and work


• It is considered the greatest architectural achievement of Brasil in the colonial period.


• At night it is a hopping area, a great place for people to hang out. There are numerous bars and happenings. There is also the Circo Voador, a venue for shows