Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro
Perched on a forested hill above downtown Rio, Santa Teresa is the city's most characterful neighbourhood — a maze of cobbled streets lined with art nouveau mansions, independent galleries, and open-air bars where samba spills out onto the pavement on weekend afternoons. It feels like a village that somehow ended up inside South America's most dramatic city.
Art, Architecture and the Famous Tram
The neighbourhood's signature attraction is the Museu Chácara do Céu, a modernist villa housing one of Brazil's finest private art collections — works by Matisse, Monet, and Di Cavalcanti hang in rooms that open onto terraces with sweeping views of Guanabara Bay.
The yellow bonde tram, which once connected Santa Teresa to downtown, was restored and reopened in 2015. It now runs a short route from the Carioca metro station across the Arcos da Lapa aqueduct — a 45-second crossing that offers a genuinely thrilling open-air view of the Lapa arches and the city below.
Where to Eat and Drink
Bar do Mineiro on Rua Paschoal Carlos Magno is the neighbourhood's beloved institution — order the feijoada (Brazil's black bean and pork stew) on a Saturday, when it's served in the traditional slow-cooked style with farofa, collard greens, and a caipirinha to wash it down.
For the evening, the open terrace of Aprazível restaurant offers one of Rio's most romantic dining settings: tables set among tropical garden foliage with the city lights spreading to the horizon below. The menu focuses on elevated Brazilian cuisine using ingredients from the Amazon and the Cerrado savanna.
More of Brazil
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Brazil →
