Rio from A to Z
Acaí
is delicious and sometimes served at the beach from guys in hot pants - even more delicious :) Basically it´s like ice cream made of the “acai berry” from the Amazonas. Give it a shot and don´t wonder, it is often served with cereals and milk powder!?!
Arpoador
by dusk all the tourists of Rio de Janeiro come together at the Arpoador to sit there with a coconut and see the sun going down behind the "dois irmaos" on the other end of Ipanema and Leblon beach. Other highlight is that you can surf at that spot until night ´cause the water is lid by spotlights.
Bus rides
are one of a kind...and something you won´t probably forget so quickly. Be sure to sit down as fast as possible if you don´t want your face to be squeezed into someone else´s armpit.
Bum Bum
is the most important body part to the Brazilians - their ass. There is a big hype about the body and especially their Bum Bum. There even is a a tv-show who elects the most beautiful one.
Botafogo
is a borough and also an internationally known football club in Rio de Janeiro.
Barra de Tijuca
20 km of sand beach and crystal water in the south zone of Rio. Ideal to go surfing or to lend a bike and ride along the beach.
BikeRIO
the perfect way to explore the city. For only 10,- Reais (2016) monthly you can rent a bike for one hour as often as you like . And on top it´s easy to handle. Get the app "bikerio", pay with your credit card... and there you go.
Carioca
are called the native habitants of Rio de Janeiro.
Christo & Corcovado
a place you shouldn’t miss as it is the landmark most known. Religious or not the view you have over Rio from there is breathtaking. Make sure you go on a sunny day and with a bit of time as there are always many people. If you don´t want to pay the entrance fee for "Christ Redeemer" walk up to the "Santa Martha viewing point". The view is as astonishing as from the Christ statue and totally for free.
Copacabana
the most famous beach of all, I guess. 4 km where you can swim, play volley, eat, drink, walk and do sports, visit markets and so on. Host of special events like the "fan-fest", the volley world tour and so on.
Carnival
...in Rio is known all over the world. It is a time where everything stands still and where prices shoot up high in the sky. If you wanna know more about the carnival?!?... get the full info here.
Caldo de cana
is a sweet but tasty drink directly squeezed from the sugarcane. It gets really tasty with a shot of lemon juice. Often you can find people selling it on the streets or in those bars where they also sell juices.
Dois irmaos
...is for me the most beautiful hill/mountain in Rio de Janeiro AND you can actually walk up there. The beginning of the trail is located at the top of the favela Vidigal. Mototaxis and minivans will take you all the way up to the highest point of Vidigal - from there it´s like an hour walk until the top where you have a beautiful view above Rio. Make it special and go with a guided tour to see the sunrise from up there.
Escadaria Selarón
the famous steps in "La Lapa" which are totally covered in over 2000 tiles created by the chilenean artist "Jorge Selarón".
Feira Hippie de Ipanema
every sunday from 8 am until 5 pm the "Feira Hippie de Ipanema" takes place with over 50 stands of handmade stuff, clothes, etc. to get there leave the metro at "General Osorio".
Favelas in general
don´t generalise :) Favela is not favela or "community" like they are called by now. There are a few you can consider visiting, always of course with respect towards the people. Normally people don´t like it if you put a camera in their face or take pictures of their children without permission. The favelas Santa Theresa, Santa Marta and Rocinha have tours you can book to get to know the place and their history. In the favela Santa Martha Michael Jackson shot his famous video "They don´t care about us". The most touristic favela has also an elevator so you don´t have to climb all the steps but can descent easily.
GIG Galeao-Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport Rio de Janeiro
probably the airport you will arrive to. The bus into town is only around 16,- Reais (2016) but it will take you 2 or 3 hours to get to your destination. Maybe you prefer a taxi. At the Airport they tell you to get a taxi from within the airport which is twice as high than the normal price. Everyone needs to make the decision for themselves... we took the taxi outside like all the other brazilians and we didn´t have any problems.
Helicopter flight
From the "Urca" and the "Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas" you can get a heli ride over Rio which must be amazing. Not so amazing are the prices but decide for yourself. Their are rides from 370,- Reais up to 1.800,- Reais.
Hiking
Tijuca Park: come on Sunday when the roads are closed to cars. Go all the way up to the "vista chinesa" and on the way go for a swim in one of the waterfalls right next to the street.
Claudio Coutinho Trail: this trail brings you in around half an hour up the Urca - for free!! Well, it´s not the sugar loaf but close and you have an overwhelming view of Rio completely for free.
Pedra de Gavea: you definitely should be in good conditions to do this trail and take a lot of water and food with you as it will take you about 3 hours to go up there.
Pedra Bonita: maybe after hiking "pedra bonita" you want to jump down that hill with the paragliders and into the blue sky and land in the warm sand of "Sao Conrado" beach.
Pedra do Teleferico: probably the most fun tour!! It only takes quite a time to get there but the pictures you can take there make up for that.
Dois Irmaos:...as I told you already under "D" one of the most beautiful tours you can join!!
Ipanema
after Copacabana the second famous beach in Rio and my all time favourite!! The water is clearer and the atmosphere more relaxed.
Jardim Botanico
is one of the oldest botanical gardens in South America with palms that high you can hardly believe they are real. The area is huge with a lot of different plants to see.
Kibe, Coxinha y un suco
...the fast food of Rio. You will spot these bars nearly in every corner across town. Kibe and Coxinha are the most classic ones ...and the fruit juices...well, every one is great. I could live from that if they would let me.
Leblon
after 2 km the beach of Ipanema turns into Leblon which goes on for 2 kms more. The sand is the same only the name changes and the prices get a little bit higher.
La Lapa
a place you shouldn’t miss if you are a party animal. "La Lapa" is the place to be on Friday and Saturday night. Here you have it all. Cheap drinks, international bands, spontaneous samba flash mobs... Don´t come to early it all begins around midnight.
Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas
just a few streets from Leblon and Ipanema you find the "Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas". A wonderful place to chill out on the weekends or to have a picnic with friends.
Maracana
the estadion which hosted the final of the world championship 2014. Argentina - Germany... and so many more. For me it´s enough to see it from the outside, but there are guided tours every day if there are no events, if you like.
Metro
of Rio is new and good. Right know it will be expanded until "Barra De Tijuca" which will integrate the whole south district and hopefully change the daily traffic chaos at 5pm in this area.
Museum
why go and visit a museum in a place where the sun nearly always shines?? Because they are air-conditioned!!...and they have great art:
"Museu do Amanha" metro "Uruguaiana".
"Caixa cultural"; metro "Carioca". Changing exhibitions.
"Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói" a little bit remote.
...of course you have a lot more but these were enough for me!!
Niteroi
lies just over the Niteroi bridge. After living in Rio for half a year I learned that there is actually a ferry that takes you from the centre of Rio to Niteroi in 10 min so you don´t have to take the bus which will take you hours to get there.
Obrigado
means „Thank You“ and should be in your vocabulary just out of politeness. No matter if its the only thing you can say. Equally you can say "brigado" if you are a boy or "brigada" if you are a girl.
Olympics
in 2016 Rio was hosting the first Olympic games in "South America". A few impressions of the event I collected for you here.
Placa XV
if you should have enough of Rio you can jump on a ferry here to Niteroi (each 30 min.) or to Ilha de Paquetá.
Pao de Acucar „the sugar loaf“
another famous landmark in Rio and a must do. The view is stunning. If you don´t have any money take the trail up the "Urca" for free. If you have a lot of money see the sugar loaf with the cable car and take the helicopter from the top of the "Urca" and go on an amazing ride over "a cidade maravilhosa".
Prato feito
THE dish in Brazil. It consists of rice, black beans, „farofa“, french fries, and meat, fish or eggs.
(easy) Quartos
much cheaper than hostels and for those who wanna stay a little bit longer, renting a room will be more economic. You can get rooms for around 1500,- Reais monthly (2016) in the favelas even cheaper.
Rocinha
is the biggest favela in Rio de Janeiro and I guess in South America. It is located in Sao Conrado. A city within the city.
Revellion
just wow!! Until now my favourite way to welcome the New Year. The dresscode for this event is white and “be sure to wear some flowers in your hair”. Then sit with around two million people and a few cruise ships in front in the sand of Copacabana beach and wait for the fireworks at midnight.
Real pl. Reais
is the currency of Brazil.
Robbery
you can´t deny it. Rio is a dangerous city - sometimes. But also the opportunity makes thieves so don´t take the family jewels on a Copacabana afternoon walk and be careful with your bags and you will be fine.
Sambodromo
the place can be visited throughout the year but it makes much more sense to visit the vibrant carnival shows in the summertime where over 24 samba schools compete for the title ...just awesome!!
Samba
there are a few schools in Rio who have samba classes. My advise: If you really wanna learn how to move: go out on Friday and Saturday night in "La Lapa“ and make some Brazilian friends who will show you how to do it!!
Surf, kite surf
it seems like Brazilians where born with a surfboard under their ass. On each beach you have at least one surf school where you can take classes.
Theatre
yes, I know they exist. They are there and I´m sure the program is fantastic...but besides of a circus show I haven´t seen any.
Tapioca
you definitely want to get your teeth in one of these. Delicious and cheap. Hold out for the little wagons in the streets.
Taxi
don´t worry to get one. They are all over the place. If you want to be on the safe side let the hotel call one for you.
Urca
is the mountain next to the "Pao de azucar" and gave the borough it´s name. Also the buses you need to take to go up the "Pao de Acucar" are called Urca.
Voo libre
the brave ones have the possibility to do a paragliding tandem flight near the centre of Rio de Janeiro. The point of encounter lies on the beach in "Sao Conrado". Daily from 9 am in the morning.
(brazilian) waxing
rather painful but popular. At least all of Copacabana seems to be hair-free.
x-tudo
if you stroll around Rio you will notice in several cheap restaurant the phrase X- Burger, X- Salada which is an adaption of the english word "Cheese" which sounds pronounced by the portuguese somehow like an X. So if you order for example a X- frango you will get a Cheeseburger with chicken breast.
(Youth) hostels
in Rio you have the full range of hostels and hotels all over town. Only for carnival, new Year and other holidays in Rio it can get very expensive.
Yakisoba
a very popular Chinese plate with noodles, vegetables and meat. As common in Rio as the "Coxinha".
Zoologico
I admit it - I´ve put the Zoologico here because I didn´t had another word for Z. Please don´t take it as a recommendation to go there!!
Well, that was it!! I hope you enjoyed reading Thanks!! May your holidays in Rio be fantastic :)
