Rio de Janeiro

We spent a December week in Leblon: pool mornings, beach walks, and Christ the Redeemer.

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🇧🇷 Rio De Janeiro Essentials

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Best Time: Dec-Mar (summer) or May-Oct (mild)

Beach season vs comfortable hiking

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4-5 Days Ideal

Beaches, Corcovado, and slow days

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Currency: BRL (real)

Cards widely accepted; carry little cash

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Uber + Metro

Ubers are cheap, safe, and everywhere

🧭 Why Visit

We came to Rio to do nothing, and it's spectacular at that: mornings at the pool, long walks on the sand, unhurried dinners, one tasting menu was a genuine highlight. With Sugarloaf and Corcovado on the skyline, even a lazy week feels epic. December means full summer.

🏛️ A Little History

Rio was Brazil's capital for nearly two centuries, and for thirteen years capital of the entire Portuguese Empire after the royal court fled Napoleon in 1808, making it the only European imperial seat ever located outside Europe.

💡 Did You Know?

Christ the Redeemer stands 98 feet tall atop 2,300-foot Corcovado, its pieces hauled up by cog railway and clad in thousands of triangular soapstone tiles, the guided tour up is the way to do it, and the views stop conversation.

Where we stayed

The View from Vidigal

Our week ran on the view from Avenida Niemeyer, high on the hillside between Leblon and the sea.

The Rio coastline from a hillside, houses at left and the beach curving to distant hills.
The Whole Arc of CoastFrom the road above the beach the coastline runs unbroken past Leblon and Ipanema to the hills at the far end. This is the view we woke up to for a week.
Colourful houses stacked up a steep green hillside above a coastal road in Rio.
Vidigal on the HillThe community climbs the hillside in painted concrete above the road, close enough from up here to pick out the washing and the window frames.
The Rio coast at dusk from a hillside, dark headland at left, the moon in a blue sky.
The Same Coast, LateLate in the day the headland goes to shadow, the lights start along the sand, and the moon is already up over the water.
The Rio shoreline at night, a line of lights along the beach beneath a dark hillside.
The Shoreline at NightAfter dark the beach reduces to a single line of lights running away toward the far end of Ipanema.
Pink and gold fireworks bursting above rocks beside a lit beach at night in Rio.
Fireworks Over the BeachFireworks going up off the rocks one December evening, lighting the surf pink for a few seconds at a time.
The beach below

Praia do Vidigal

A short, sheltered beach at the foot of the hill, with a rock sitting offshore and Ipanema visible along the water.

A large rock offshore beside a small sandy beach, a green headland with buildings behind.
The Rock OffshoreA boulder the size of a house sits just off the sand, and the headland closes the cove at the far end.
Palm trees over a Rio beach with a yellow warning flag and the city skyline beyond.
Looking Along the SandTurn the other way and the beach runs out under the palms with the yellow flag up and the city stacked in the distance.
A small Rio beach seen from above with a large rock offshore and the city skyline beyond.
The Beach from AboveFrom the hillside the whole cove reads at once, the rock, the umbrellas, and the skyline behind.
The famous sand

Ipanema and Copacabana

The beaches Rio is known for, seen from the sand rather than the hillside. Photographs in this section by Lucas Pereira, used with permission.

Ipanema beach crowded with coloured umbrellas, the Dois Irmãos peaks rising behind.
Ipanema on a Full DayUmbrellas packed edge to edge down the sand with Dois Irmãos standing over the far end of the beach.
Sunset at Ipanema beach, wet sand reflecting orange light, Dois Irmãos in silhouette.
Sunset at the Water's EdgeThe tide going out at Ipanema with the wet sand holding the last of the light and Dois Irmãos in silhouette.
Outrigger canoes on the sand at Copacabana beach with Sugarloaf Mountain in the distance.
Canoes on CopacabanaOutrigger canoes pulled up on the sand at Copacabana, with Sugarloaf closing the bay at the far end.
Two palm trees arching over a promenade with Dois Irmãos and low cloud across the water.
Palms at the Ipanema EndTwo palms arch over the promenade at the Arpoador end with cloud sitting on the ridge behind Dois Irmãos.
The one thing we did

Up Corcovado

The cog railway climbs through the Tijuca forest to the statue and the best view in the city.

Dense green Tijuca forest with tall trunks seen from the Corcovado railway line.
Through the ForestThe train climbs through the Tijuca forest, close enough to the trees to see the fruit hanging in them.
A Corcovado railway ticket resting on a wooden bench slat inside the train carriage.
140 Years of the RailwayThe ticket for the Corcovado rack railway, which opened in 1884 and was marking its 140th year when we rode it.
Large yellow-green jackfruit growing directly from a tree trunk in the Tijuca forest.
Jackfruit on the TrunkJackfruit grows straight out of the trunk rather than the branches, and the trees beside the track are full of it.
The Christ the Redeemer statue at full height against a blue sky, visitors at the base.
Christ the RedeemerThe statue stands 30 metres tall on an 8 metre pedestal, with an arm span of 28 metres, and was finished in 1931. The crowd at the base gives the scale.
Christ the Redeemer from below and behind, silhouetted with the sun above the shoulder.
From Below and BehindComing up the last steps you meet the statue from behind with the sun directly over its shoulder.
Sugarloaf Mountain and Guanabara Bay seen from the summit of Corcovado over the city.
Sugarloaf and Guanabara BayFrom the terrace the city opens east across Botafogo to Sugarloaf and the whole of Guanabara Bay.
The Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon and racetrack seen from Corcovado, ocean beyond.
The Lagoa and the Jockey ClubInland the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas fills the valley with the Jockey Club racetrack on its western shore.
Where the week went

The Table

Mornings at the pool, and one long tasting menu that turned out to be the highlight of the trip.

Two oysters on crushed ice, one topped with chopped pepper and one with diced fruit.
Two Oysters, Two WaysOne dressed with chopped pepper and herb, one with fruit, both on crushed ice.
A coiled octopus tentacle on yellow puree with greens and a crisp shard on a blue plate.
Octopus and SaffronA curl of octopus on a yellow puree with a crisp shard standing out of it.
Beef medallions with green gnocchi, a baby carrot and red wine sauce on a pale plate.
Beef and Green GnocchiBeef with green gnocchi, a glazed carrot, and a broad stroke of red wine sauce.
A plated dessert with a quenelle of ice cream, crumb and pale custard on a wide bowl.
The Dessert CourseA quenelle of ice cream, a crumb base, and a pool of pale custard across the plate.
A breakfast tray of sliced papaya, guava and watermelon on ice with serving tongs.
Breakfast FruitPapaya, guava and watermelon laid out on ice at breakfast, which is how most Brazilian mornings start.
A green coconut cut open with a white straw, seen from above on a woven table.
Coco GeladoA green coconut opened with a straw in it. The standard order at any beach kiosk, and at the pool as well.

Live Prices & Availability

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Where to Stay in Rio

Getting There

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Getting Around

  • Take only what fits in a pocket to the beach, phone, small cash, nothing else
  • Book Christ the Redeemer for early morning: clouds and crowds both roll in by 11

Local Know-How

  • Uber is the default transport, cheap and safer than street hails at night
  • A caipirinha at a beach kiosk at sunset is not optional; it's the Rio ritual

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Rio safe for tourists?
With city smarts, yes: stay in the Zona Sul (Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon), use Ubers at night, carry only pocket essentials to beaches, and keep phones unflashed on the street.
Corcovado or Sugarloaf, or both?
Both, differently: Christ the Redeemer for the iconic statue and morning panorama; Sugarloaf's cable cars for sunset over the bay. Book Corcovado's train or vans ahead.
Which neighborhood should I stay in?
Ipanema and Leblon are the polished beach bases with the best restaurants; Copacabana is livelier and cheaper. All three connect by metro and beachfront promenade.
How many days for Rio?
Four to five: two proper beach days (they're the culture, not the filler), Corcovado and Santa Teresa, Sugarloaf sunset, and a slow day, Rio punishes rushing.

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