Historic Centre and Santa Teresa Half-Day Tour Rio de Janeiro

Praça XV de Novembro and the historic centre

Praça XV de Novembro is the square where Rio de Janeiro began as a capital. Facing the harbour, it is bordered by the Paço Imperial, the eighteenth-century palace that served the Portuguese governors and later the royal and imperial family, and by an ornate fountain of the same era. Around it stand the old churches and arcaded passages of the colonial town, with modern office towers rising behind, so that the contrast of old and new that defines the historic centre of Rio is visible in a single glance.

A Rio historic centre tour starts here because the square explains the city: the arrival of the Portuguese court in 1808, the proclamation of independence and the republic whose date gives the square its name. Your guide walks you across the square and into the surrounding streets for about forty-five minutes, with time for photos of the palace façade and the waterfront.

Cinelândia Square

A short drive or walk from Praça XV brings you to Cinelândia, the square that became the cultural centre of Rio in the early twentieth century when the city was remodelled with wide avenues in the Parisian style. Its name recalls the cinemas that once lined it. Around the square stand some of the most imposing buildings in Brazil: the Municipal Theatre with its gilded domes, the National Library and the National Museum of Fine Arts, all built around 1910.

The tour makes a stop here for photos and for the guide's explanation of how this ensemble was built, and of the role the square has played in the political life of the country, from celebrations to demonstrations. Allow about half an hour. Cinelândia is also a metro hub, which makes it easy to return on another day if you want to visit the theatre or the museums inside.

The Carioca Aqueduct in Lapa

From Cinelândia the route continues to Lapa and the Arcos da Lapa, the Carioca Aqueduct. Built in the mid-eighteenth century to carry water from the springs of the Carioca river on the slopes of Santa Teresa down to the fountains of the colonial town, it is a double row of whitewashed arches more than two hundred and fifty metres long and over seventeen metres high, the largest structure left from colonial Rio. Since the end of the nineteenth century the Santa Teresa tram has run across its top.

The square beneath the arches is the classic photo stop, with the old townhouses of Lapa around it and the hill of Santa Teresa rising behind. By day the district is quiet; the guide explains how it turns into the city's music quarter after dark. From here the vehicle climbs the hill, following roughly the course of the old aqueduct.

Santa Teresa

Santa Teresa is the hilltop neighbourhood that artists and writers adopted in the twentieth century, a maze of narrow winding streets lined with colourful nineteenth-century houses, iron balconies, small studios, galleries and craft shops. The yellow tram that has served the hill since the 1890s still runs along its tracks and is the symbol of the district. Being here by car with a guide avoids the steep climbs and lets you stop wherever the view opens.

At the top of Santa Teresa hill the tour pauses at a viewpoint that looks across the city centre to Guanabara Bay, the harbour and the mountains of the far shore, one of the finest views in Rio that needs no ticket. A Santa Teresa tour is best in the morning light or in the late afternoon; allow about an hour for the drive, the stops and a walk along the main street.

Parque das Ruínas

The last stop is Parque das Ruínas, the Park of the Ruins, built around the shell of a mansion that was one of the great social salons of Rio in the early twentieth century. After decades of abandonment the brick walls were stabilised and threaded with glass and steel walkways, and the ruin reopened as a cultural centre with exhibitions, concerts and a small café. The architecture is striking: open arches, exposed brick and modern stairs leading to the top.

The reward is the terrace on the roof, with a panoramic view over the centre of Rio, Guanabara Bay, Sugarloaf and the hills of Santa Teresa, which is why Parque das Ruínas appears on every list of free viewpoints in the city. Entry is free and the park is normally closed on Mondays, so the guide adjusts the order of stops if needed. Plan about forty minutes here before the drive back to your hotel.