A Perfect 24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Greetings, Internet Stranger, and welcome to a perfect 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is one of the most exciting and glamorous cities in the entire world. Every time I go, I wish that I could return right away. But sadly the laws of time and space do not permit this.

I recommend spending 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro with a tour guide. You’ll be able to hit up the major attractions like Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer, and you won’t have to worry about handling all of the transportation yourself.

You can find an excellent tour guide by going right here.

Then get ready for a day of beauty and adventure! After this day, you’re going to love Rio de Janeiro just as much as I do.

24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro

Morning: Christ the Redeemer

We’re very lucky on this 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro because we are heading to the two most famous attractions in Rio de Janeiro: Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf. These two very different landmarks are both unique to Rio and offer stunning views of one of the prettiest cities in the entire world.

And though Rio has a pretty decent public transportation system, it’s a lot easier to get to these locations on a group tour. We’ll be able to see the whole city from the comfort of an air conditioned bus.

Check tour rates and availability right here!

Then get ready to get to know the Big Jesus! And also get ready to know:

Three Fascinating Facts: Christ the Redeemer

1) How do you get to Christ the Redeemer?

The Christ the Redeemer statue is located on top of a mountain called Corcovado. In case you are curious, Corcovado means hunchback, which I think refers to the shape of the mountain. In any case, if you want to get to the top of Corcovado, we’re going to have to get riding.

If you don’t get your tickets ahead of time, you’re going to have to suffer on a hideously long line, especially if you spend your 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro during the high season. But if you take the tour, your guide will take care of the tickets for you.

In my opinion, this is more than enough reason to take the tour.

Your guide will help you go straight to the top, and then you can get to know the statue yourself!

2) Why was this statue built?

Great question! This statue is only about one hundred years old. You can probably tell that it comes from the 1920s and 1930s because it’s done in the Art Deco style. It’s basically the Chrysler Building of statues.

Brazil has historically been a Catholic country, since it was once part of the Portuguese empire, and the Catholic church wanted to put a statue on top of Corcovado for quite some time. There had been a lot of disagreement about how this statue should look. At one point, the plan was that the statue should include Jesus holding a globe and a cross.

I personally love the spare, simple design of the statue, with Christ’s arms stretched wide open, welcoming everyone. It’s quite an impressive technical accomplishment.

Naturally, since the Christ the Redeemer statue is so close to the sky, sometimes it gets damaged by weather, struck by lightning, and whatnot. That’s why it was it was fully renovated over a decade ago, and it will periodically need repairs. But I got to visit after it was refurbished, and you can see how bright and shiny it was.

3) What else is there to see on Corcovado?

Well, as you can probably imagine, there’s plenty of shopping! I mean, this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Brazil, and where there are tourists, there’s bound to be shopping! You can pick up a cute little tchotchke if you want, but bring cash because the stores don’t all accept credit cards.

There are also public toilets up here, but just be aware that when you visit a public toilet in Brazil, they might ask you to put toilet paper in the trash can instead of flushing it, to preserve the pipes.

Of course, the best thing to do when you’re at the top of Corcovado is take pictures of this amazing view! You can see basically all of Rio from here, especially the famous Maracana soccer stadium, which we will be seeing later on our 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro. Even if you’re not interested in the Christ the Redeemer statue, you’ll be glad you came up here.

So take all the amazing photos that you want, and then get ready for our next stop!

24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro

Afternoon: Sugar Loaf Mountain

If there’s anything you can be sure to find in your 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro, it’s amazing views! And how convenient that we get to find the two best views in Rio on this tour.

Check tour rates and availability right here!

But we’re not going to only stop at Sugar Loaf! In this tour, lunch is included! And it’s going to be one of Brazil’s most popular specialties.

So get ready to join me for a day of…

Approximately Top 5: 24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro

1) Steak Time

If there is one food that the Brazilians love, it’s their meat. Sure, we have some amazing fruit and vegetables in Brazil, and I’ve tasted incredible ice cream there, but the meat is on another level.

I hope during your time in Rio that you’ll be able to hit up a churrascaria, which is one of the Brazilian meat palaces where the waiters come around with different succulent cuts of meat, and you can just sample as much as you like. So fun and delicious!

But on this tour, we’re going to go to one of the best steakhouses in Rio instead. (No, I won’t tell you which one it is. You’ll have to take the tour to find out.) But I am sure that if you go, you’ll fill your belly with some of Brazil’s finest meat.

Now that’s enough lunch! On to some sugar (loaf).

2) Sugar Loaf Time!

All right, next we’re heading up Sugarloaf Mountain. To get here, we’ll have to ride the cable cars, but that’s going to be easier for us because the tour guide will take care of tickets and everything.

The cable car itself has spectacular views, and you might even be able to see a local monkey or two as you go up! I did, but it was hard to get a good photo of them because we and they were moving, so you will just have to take my word for it.

The cable car technically not the only way that you can get up Sugarloaf Mountain because some intrepid travelers like to hike the massive object up and down. However we won’t be doing that on this tour. There definitely isn’t enough time.

How did Sugarloaf Mountain get its name? Well, you can probably guess from my photo above, but the mountain was named after a loaf of sugar. I personally have never used a loaf of sugar. I tend to just sweeten my coffee with a packet of Splenda. But that’s how they got their sugar in the old days.

3) Enjoy the View!

As you can see, the views from Sugarloaf are just as spectacular as the views from Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer. However, they’ll show you a completely different part of the city! It’s like getting a panoramic view of one of South America’s most important cities in just one day!

I think the prettiest sight you can see from Sugarloaf Mountain is Botafogo Bay and Beach. If your 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro is like mine, you won’t have enough time to visit this lovely beach on your trip, so it’s lovely to be able to see it from above.

And of course, there are plenty of shops here if you want to get some Brazilian souvenirs. I liked the shops here better than the ones at Corcovado, so you might want to save your money accordingly.

4) Maracana Stadium

The tour has two additional stops that don’t involve spectacular views at all. The first is the legendary Maracana soccer stadium. If you are a soccer fan, of course you have to make a stop here. It’s almost like making a pilgrimage to a holy shrime for soccer fans.

But even if you’re not a soccer fan, you’ll be curious to learn about such an important part of Brazilian culture. This stadium was opened in 1950 because that was a year in which Brazil hosted soccer’s World Cup. Brazil got to the finals that year, but lost to Uruguay, which made it a pretty memorable occasion.

But don’t worry that you’re going to be walking into a decades old stadium! I promise that it has been totally refurbished since then! Your guide will be able to tell you all about the stars who have played here and how it hosted Brazil’s victory in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Then it’s on to the final stop of the tour.

5) Sambadrome

The final stop on the tour is the Sambadrome. This is where the samba schools compete every year during Carnival. Now, I have never been to Rio during Carnival, though I hope to go some day. However, I have visited Rio during New Year’s and I can tell you that Brazilians know how to party.

The samba is an incredibly popular dance in Brazil, and you don’t need to go during Carnival to see it. You can just head over to the popular night life spot, Lapa, and see Brazilians and tourists of all ages dancing the samba in the street.

But even if you don’t get to watch the samba schools on the tour, you will get to get up close and personal with the samba outfits, so I think that is almost as nice and makes for some great photos.

24 Hour Tip

Those are all the secrets of the tour that I can share with you for now. You’ll have to experience the tour for yourself to find the rest.

Check tour rates and availability right here!

24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro

Dinner at Zaza Bistro

There are many wonderful restaurants in Rio, but I suggest getting dinner at Zaza Bistro, especially if you are staying in the Copacabana/Ipanema area. This restaurant serves glamorous tropical food. You can get all kinds of treats here, from fish to filet mignon to pork ribs.

And if you’re vegetarian? Don’t worry because there are many excellent vegetarian and pasta options on the menu as well.

Be sure to save room for one of the spectacular desserts featuring local tropical fruits! And wash the whole meal down with one of several caipirinha options. Afterwards, head out with a full stomach and a happy heart!

You can either take a cab over to Lapa to experience some real live samba, or you can head back to your hotel and get some sleep. You do you! Just rest up and get ready for another amazing day in Rio.

24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro

Where to Stay?

Rio is a fairly spread out city with many different interesting neighborhoods. So the first thing you’re going to want to think about when choosing a hotel in Rio is the location. You want to make sure that the location is safe and it’s also somewhere you will be comfortable.

That’s why I recommend the Windsor California Copacabana. It has an amazing location near Copacabana Beach, a 24 hour front desk, a swimming pool, and a fantastic restaurant for an extra charge.

You won’t find a better option, and considering how great the location is, the price is very reasonable.

If you are interested in checking out this hotel, go right here.

And if you’d rather explore hotels elsewhere in Rio de Janeiro, go here.

This search engine will help you find the perfect choice of your hotel for your 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro. I’m sure you will be able to find a great option for your taste and budget.

That’s a Perfect 24 Hours in Rio de Janeiro

What would you do with 24 hours in Rio? Are you ready to start booking your hotel in Rio right now? Is anyone better at the meaty arts than Brazil? Email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should only spend 24 hours in Rio.

If you have time to go to Argentina, you can also check out the best things to do in Recoleta. Or why not another 24 hours in Buenos Aires? Add on a one day in Buenos Aires itinerary.