Rio de Janeiro

Two peaks: Corcovado and Sugarloaf

Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) stands 38 m tall on top of Corcovado, 710 m above sea level, and was inaugurated on 12 October 1931. The Corcovado cog train came first: Emperor Pedro II opened it in 1884. Its 3,824 m of track cut through the Tijuca Forest (Floresta da Tijuca), and while the statue was going up, the train spent four years hauling building materials to the top. Sugarloaf (Pão de Açúcar) is a rounded rock shaped like the loaf of sugar it's named for. To reach the summit, you change cable cars once, at Morro da Urca. This was Brazil's first cable car: the first section opened in 1912 and the summit stretch the following year. Go up late in the afternoon and you'll see the sun set beyond the city and the lights come on, one by one, along Copacabana.

The people who replanted the forest

The Tijuca Forest the train runs through was planted by hand. In 1861, Emperor Pedro II declared the forests here protected, and Major Manuel Gomes Archer was put in charge of bringing them back. More than 100,000 trees went in over 13 years, and on the front line, bringing expert knowledge of the forest, were eleven enslaved Black people. The park's records still keep their names, Maria, Eleutério and Constantino among them. The area became a national park in 1961, and along its trails you can still spot coffee plants and the remains of old farm buildings.

The beach is Rio's living room

The southern shoreline running from Copacabana through Ipanema to Leblon is a neighborhood before it's a sight. Early morning belongs to runners and people kicking a ball around, midday to families under umbrellas, and as the light drops, people finished with work fill the sand. Along Copacabana runs a promenade of black-and-white stone laid in waves. The city lists it as a historic sidewalk designed by landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. On the sand, vendors carry iced mate tea and Biscoito Globo, a snack baked from cassava starch. Arpoador, the rocky point jutting out between Ipanema and Copacabana, is a sunset spot known around the world. At dusk the rock fills up with people, and Morro Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers Hill) at the end of Leblon turns to a silhouette in the evening glow.

Old Rio: Lapa and the Selarón Steps

Lapa's landmark, a row of 42 white arches, began as an aqueduct. The Carioca Aqueduct (Aqueduto da Carioca) was built in the 18th century to carry water from the Carioca River into the city, and today the Santa Teresa tram runs across the top. Near the arches, the Selarón Steps (Escadaria Selarón) are the work of Chilean artist Jorge Selarón. He covered 250 steps, 125 m in all, with more than 2,000 colorful tiles, and the staircase was listed as a heritage site in 2005. At the top, it leads into the hillside neighborhood of Santa Teresa. After dark, samba starts up in the bars and music venues of Lapa below.

Rio at the table

Feijoada is black beans slow-cooked with several cuts of pork. It comes with rice, farofa (toasted cassava flour), sautéed kale and orange slices, so one plate is a hearty meal. At a churrascaria, rodízio service means waiters walk the room with meat on skewers and carve it right onto your plate. Usually, if you leave the card on your table green side up, they'll keep bringing meat; flip it to red and they stop. The signature cut is picanha, beef rump with its cap of fat. At a neighborhood boteco, people pair chopp, draft beer in a thin glass, with fried snacks like coxinha, a chicken croquette. On the way back from the beach, a bowl of frozen açaí topped with granola and banana sometimes stands in for a late lunch.

Carnival, two ways

Rio's carnival comes in two strands. One is the samba schools (escolas de samba) parading through the Sambódromo, each judged on the theme song, costumes and floats it has spent a year preparing. LIESA, the samba school league, lists 12 schools in its 2027 schedule, parading four a night from 7 to 9 February. The other is street carnival, the blocos: crowds singing as they follow a neighborhood band, free for anyone to join. In 2026 the city authorized more than 400 street parades, and Riotur, the city's tourism company, says 2027's street carnival is set to begin on 16 January. Carnival dates shift each year with Lent.

A five-day itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive → check in near Copacabana → walk the promenade → dinner at a churrascaria Day 2 — Morning cog train up Corcovado to Christ the Redeemer → Tijuca Forest trails → sunset at Arpoador Day 3 — Lapa Arches → Selarón Steps → Santa Teresa's streets → samba bars in Lapa at night Day 4 — Half a day on Ipanema and Leblon beaches → Sugarloaf cable car late afternoon for sunset Day 5 — Feijoada lunch → airport

What to eat

• Feijoada (black bean stew)
• Churrascaria rodízio (skewered meat service)
• Açaí (with granola and banana)
• Biscoito Globo and mate (beach vendors)

Handy tips

• South Korea's foreign ministry (0404.go.kr) rates all of Brazil at Level 2, 'refrain from travel.' It warns that taking a bag onto a Rio beach makes you a likely target, especially at night, and that you're better off staying away from the city's hillside neighborhoods, most of which are favelas.
• Corcovado train tickets are booked for a set date and boarding time and include entry to Christ the Redeemer. Trains leave from Cosme Velho station. Prices are shown per visit date; a same-day adult ticket was R$134 when checked in October 2026.
• The Sugarloaf cable car runs daily, with last boarding at 7:30 p.m. From 3 January 2026, under the city's summer rules for night use, Arpoador rock was open only from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. Check the city's notices for whether those hours still apply.