Brazil - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 240

establishment of the first Republic in
1888 and end with Presidente Vargas's
1954 suicide, though it's the palace's
spectacular Moorish Hall and opulent
marble and stained glass that make a visit
so worthwhile. Behind the palace is the
Parque do Catete, a pleasing tranquil
spot, while neighbouring to the south is
the Museu de Folclore Edison Carneiro
(Tues-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat & Sun
3-6pm; R$5), holding a fascinating
folkloric collection of leatherwork,
musical instruments, ceramics, toys and
Afro-Brazilian religious paraphernalia.

hostels as its uncomfortably heavy traffic.
The bay is dominated by yachts moored
near Rio's yacht club, while seven blocks
inland the district's top attraction is the
Museu do Índio (Tues-Fri 9am-5.30pm,
Sat & Sun 1-5pm; R$5;
W

museudoindio.org.br) at Rua das
Palmeiras 55. Housed in an old colonial
building, the museum has broad and
imaginative multi-sensory displays, as
well as utensils, musical instruments,
tribal costumes and ritual devices from
many of Brazil's dwindling populations
of indigenous peoples, plus an extensive
library. A block north of here of Rua São
Clemente, the bright colours of favela
Santa Marta light up the Corcovado
mountainside. The first of Rio's favelas to
be pacified by police in 2008, it's now
fine to walk around or to take the cable
car up to the summit, for fantastic views.
In the favela 's upper west area you'll find
a life-size bronze sculpture of Michael
Jackson, a tribute to the late singer's (then
controversial) shooting of the video hey
Don't Care About Us here in 1995,
directed by Spike Lee.
To the south of the bairro , at the foot of
Rua São João Batista, is the Cemitério São
João Batista , the Zona Sul's largest resting
place, with extravagant tombs for the Rio
elite - Carmen Miranda and Bossa Nova
master Tom Jobim are both near its
central area. Botafogo's best bars and
restaurants lie westwards around Rua
Visconde de Caravelas. The Cobal de
Humaitá , a partially covered complex
of some twenty eateries, lies nearby on
Rua Voluntários da Pátria.

3

Flamengo
Busy during the day, the tree-lined streets
of Flamengo (Metrô Largo do Machado
or Catete) are also lively after dark with
residents eating in the local restaurants;
it's tranquil enough to sit out on the
pavements around large square Largo do
Machado . The closest beach to the city
centre is here, a superb place for walking,
people-watching, volleyball and admiring
the view across the bay to Niterói (see
p.254) - though the sea here is not clean
enough for swimming.
Skirting the beach as far as Botafogo
Bay is the Parque do Flamengo (known
locally as “Aterro”), the biggest land
reclamation project in Brazil, designed
by the great landscape architect Roberto
Burle Marx and completed in 1960.
The park comprises 1.2 square kilometres
of prime seafront, and is extremely
popular for sports - there are countless
football pitches that operate 24-hours.
Take a look at the quirky Museu Carmen
Miranda (Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat
2-5pm; free), in front of Avenida Rui
Barbosa 560, at the southern end of the
park. Carmen was born in Portugal,
raised in Lapa, and made it big in
Hollywood in the 1940s. The museum
contains a wonderful collection of kitsch
memorabilia from the period, plus some
of her costumes and personal possessions.

Urca and the Sugarloaf
The small, wealthy bairro of Urca stands
on a promontory formed by a land
reclamation project and flanked by
golden beaches. Facing Flamengo,
the Praia da Urca , only 100m long,
is frequented almost exclusively by the
bairro 's inhabitants, while in front of
the cable-car station (see below) is Praia
Vermelha , a gorgeous cove sheltered from
the Atlantic and popular with swimmers.
The beaches aren't the main draw,
however: a cable-car ride up the Pão de
Açúcar is not to be missed. Rising where

Botafogo
Botafogo (Metrô Botafogo) curves
around the bay between Flamengo and
the Sugarloaf, a bairro known as much
for its lively arts scene, restaurants and