Last year I wrote about The Sights and Sounds of Centro Rio de Janeiro Part 1 which is located in the historic city center of Rio. I didn’t have much time last year, so I explored more of what Central Rio de Janeiro has to offer this time around.
Introduction to Rio de Janeiro
American Airlines LAX-JFK A321T Business Class
American Airlines JFK Flagship Lounge
American Airlines JFK-GIG 767-300 Business Class
Sheraton Barra Rio de Janeiro Hotel Review Part 1
Sheraton Barra Rio de Janeiro Hotel Review Part 2
Windsor Atlantica Rio de Janeiro Hotel Review
The Sights and Sounds of Lapa in Rio de Janeiro
The Sights and Sounds of Centro Rio de Janeiro Part 2
The Sights and Sounds of Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro
The Sights and Sounds of Pao de Acucar in Rio de Janeiro
The Sights and Sounds of Niteroi in Rio de Janeiro
The Sights and Sounds of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro
The Sights and Sounds of Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro
Scam City: Rio de Janeiro Brazil Edition Part 2
The Various Eats in Rio de Janeiro Brazil Part 2
Rio de Janeiro Airport American Airlines Admirals Club
American Airlines GIG-JFK 767-300 Business Class
American Airlines JFK-LAX A321T Business Class
My favorite place to start exploring Centro (also known as Central) Rio de Janeiro is at the Cinelandia metro subway station which is on Avenida Rio Branco.
You can find many historic landmarks such as the Theatro Municipal, City Hall, and the National Library of Brazil.
Cinelandia is a great place to people watch as it’s the main town square in the city center of Rio de Janeiro. Protests usually happen around this area as well.
Rio de Janeiro has a metro system with several stops in Centro and one of my favorites is the Carioca station.
Centro Rio de Janeiro empties out during the weeknights after work and 95% of the stores aren’t open on the weekends.
One of the most important streets in Rio de Janeiro is Avenida Presidente Vargas which is the main artery of Rio de Janeiro.
I was at Central metro station and the neighborhood is very impoverished and very much well deserted.
Street art can also be found throughout Central Rio de Janeiro.
Towards the Eastern end of Avenida Presidente Vargas, I visited the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Candelária which is also called the Candelária Church.
Nearby was a museum called the Casa Franca Brasil which houses an exhibition that deals with the political and cultural aspects of carioca life. It was really dark inside where images were projected on a screen.
Also nearby was the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro which is the Brazilian Cultural Center. It’s a very small building with an amazing dome that houses multiple exhibitions of carioca society. One of the exhibitions had a bunch of people running around in circles without saying a word.
One of my favorite things to do is eat and there is no shortage of food in Centro Rio de Janeiro. The best thing about Central is that there are a lot of kilo restaurants where you get real authentic Brazilian food and only pay by the weight.
There are a lot of small corner stores and kiosks all around Centro if you need to buy candy, soda, water, a prepaid SIM card, and even recharge your prepaid mobile phone.
Street vendors are plentiful where you can find hot dogs, skewers, Doces Caseiros (sweets), and coconut water.
Shopping is a huge affair in Centro Rio de Janeiro and you can find all kinds of stuff, even counterfeit computer software.
One of my favorite places to shop in Centro Rio de Janeiro is the Praca Mercado Municipal which is in Praca XV by the ferry harbor. This is basically your local swap meet where you can find all kinds of odd stuff for sale.
