When staying in Rio, definitely do not stay in Copacabana etc - too many tourists… and you may as well be in Benidorm.

We stayed in St Theresa. There are great authentic restaurants, cafes etc. The architecture is colonial Portuguese. And best of all, to get down into Rio centre you take a tram down the 3:1 slope, this too is 100 years old, and it feels like it.

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As a former Rio de Janeiro resident (from 1983 to 1992) I suggest one of the most beautiful and also peaceful and quiet places in Rio: JardimBotânico (the Botanical Garden). From the garden you have a magnificent view from the Tijuca’sNational Park Atlantic Forest and The Christ (CristoRedentor) with His open arms blessing such a wonderful city. It is a place where you spend hours admiring local and international plant species.
JardimBotanicoalso invites us to have some meditation: it’s great!

A wonderful place to be considered when visiting Rio: it's worth it!

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I should keep this one for myself! One of my favourite places in Rio is the Parque Lage in the grounds of a beautiful 1920s mansion between the Lagoa and the Botanic Gardens, at the base of the Corcovado, the mountain where the statue of Christ is, and only a few minutes away by taxi from Ipanema.

It is a very especial place and a great escape if you have had enough of the beach. The building is very especial, it is featured in the video of Snoop Dogg and Pharrell's song "Beautiful" and it is also the last building you see in the video for the Black Eyed Peas'song "Don't Lie", both filmed in Rio.

The building, that now houses a centre for young artist, is crying out to be turned into a fantastic museum, and the gardens are actually the beginning of a trail that goes through the rainforest all the way up to the Christ. The last time I was there we didnt go very far because we were warned there were "bandidos" (muggers), but we didn't have to walk long before we had some macaco monkeys throwing mangoes at us. Do a search in Google images and have a look.

www.blackeyedpeas.com/home/videos/41452

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Alone in Rio on the weekend? Want to be occupied without doing much? Want to see Rio beach life?

Rent a bike in Ipanema and pedal all the way up to Gloria and back. Don't forget to take in Urca. It's flat, safe (95% bike paths) and very cool; you'll need about four hours if you take it easy (how else?); you'll see a great cross section of Rio people and the view on the way back is quite different from the view on the way there.

Lonely Planet suggests two or three places. It cost me less than 10 quid.

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Jose was a true professional and did a great job of showing us around. The personal guide idea proved to be the best as we did not worry about not speaking the language or transportation. Besides doing the run of the mill sightseeing tours of Rio, Jose also does tours to Buzios and Angra dos Reis, the Brazilian Caribbean. I strongly recomend his services.

You can find all his info through his site:
www.rioturist.com

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