Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Left
Walking on the streets of Rio
Center
Police car
Right
Local newspaper
General Information
!
Disabled Travelers
*
Websites
are open from 9am until
6pm from Monday to
Saturday, and malls stay
open in the week from
10am until 10 or 11pm,
and later on Saturdays.
While disabled facil-
ities are poor in Brazil,
they can be found in
airports, bus stations,
malls, and some hotels in
Rio. The Society for
Accessible Travel and
Hospitality (SATH) offers
useful tips on its web-
site.
d
www.sath.org
@
Tourist Offices
Together with the Rio
de Janeiro tourist office
(Riotur) and Embratur
websites, www.brazilmax.
com and www.ipanema.
com are useful English-
language websites for
information about the city.
(
Traveling with
%
Walking
During the day, the
city center and beach
neighborhoods of
Ipanema, Leblon, and
Copacabana can be
explored on foot, while
longer distances are best
covered by taxi or metro.
Use taxis when out at
night for safety reasons.
Children
Children are very much a
part of all aspects of life
in Brazil and are almost
always welcome - even
in bars,
botecos
, and the
most exclusive
restaurants. They are
generally greeted by
Cariocas with great
enthusiasm and affection.
There are tourist
booths in the airports and
bus stations, and main
offices in Copacabana,
Ipanema, and the city
center. Embratur and
Riotur have useful web-
sites (riodejaneiro-turismo.
com.br, turismo.gov.br) in
Portuguese and English.
d
Rio Convention and
Visitors' Bureau: Map Q1
• Rua Guilhermina Guinle
272 • (021) 2266 9750
• 9am-5pm Mon-Fri •
www.rcvb.com.br
£
Women Travelers
^
SESC Cultural
Centers
Rio de Janeiro is replete
with cultural centers.
These include SESCs,
which are found in
neighborhoods all over
the city. These centers
often show some of the
most interesting smaller
musical acts from the
area as well as theater,
art, and cinema. Most
SESCs also have
restaurants.
d
www.
sescrj.com.br
&
Newspapers and
)
Electricity
Electricity in Rio
comes in both 200 volts
and 110 volts. Most
houses and even hotel
rooms have both.
Public Holidays
New Year's Day or
Reveillon (Jan 1);
Carnaval (Week of
Ash Wednesday,
Feb/Mar); Good
Friday and Easter
(Mar/Apr); Tiradentes
Day (Apr 21); Labor
Day (May 1); Corpus
Christi (62 days after
Good Friday);
Independence Day
(Sep 7); Children's Day
(Oct 12); All Souls' Day
(Nov 2); Proclamation
of the Republic Day
(Nov 15); Christmas
Day (Dec 25)
Rio is a welcoming
city and women are
generally treated
courteously. To ward off
unwanted advances,
firmly say
me deixa em
paz, por favor
(leave me
alone, please). Make sure
you use taxis only from
taxi points or hotels.
$
Opening Hours
Magazines
Brazil has no English-
language newspapers.
The principal papers and
news magazines are
O Globo, A Folha de São
Paulo, Veja, Istoé,
and
Epoca
. They are estab-
lishment-owned and right
wing.
Veja
, which comes
out on Fridays, has a
useful arts section with
listings for music shows
and other events.
Banks are open on
weekdays from 9 or
10am until 3 or 4pm, but
currency exchanges often
open an hour later. Post
office timings vary but
they are usually open
from 8am to 5pm. Shops
104
For general information about traveling to Brazil visit
www.braziltourism.org
