Rio de Janeiro: From "Cristo Redentor" to Maracana

To start your day you need to fill up with energy! For this, 10 minutes by road from your hotel, you will find an excellent and cheap bar that is right for you. You can taste all the typical Brazilian cakes and enjoying the typical coffee.

Before reaching the Cristo Redendor you cannot stop and admire the beautiful landscape from Forte De Copacabana. The fort was erected in 1914 on the promontory of the old chapel of Nossa Senhora de Copacabana and it was one of the first means of defense in case of attack. The fort has a power station that once provided all the lighting for the Copacabana neighborhood. The upper part of the fort known as La Cúpula dos Canhões shows one of the main landscapes of the city of Rio de Janeiro, overlooking the Pão de Açúcar, Copacabana beach and Praia do Diablo. Every day thousands of visitors are enchanted by the feeling of being above the ocean with a breathtaking view. Inside you can also entertain yourself in the military museum which keeps prized prices. For more information on the museum and the fort consult the website

After 2 - 3 hours on the road, you moved on the Corcovado (the nome of the mount) to visit Cristo Redentor which is considered the icon of the city and of the whole of Brazil. It is the third largest statue in the world and one of the new seven wonders of the world. Together with the Rio de Janeiro landscape it has been declared a World Heritage Site. The statue of Cristo Redentor overlooks the top of Corcovado (the symbolic mountain of Rio de Janeiro) at a height of 710 meters and is one of the most important tourist attractions in Brazil. The view that you can admire in the shadow of the statue is unimaginable; you can admire the beautiful beaches, the characteristic neighborhoods of the southern area, the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, the Centro and the roads leading to the northern area and the Baixada Fluminense, the Maracanã stadium and much more. The statue of Cristo Redentor of Rio depicts Jesus Christ embracing the entire city of Rio de Janeiro with open arms and the height is 38 meters. There are several songs or paintings dedicated to it. In 1850 the Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss had the idea of ​​building a large religious monument on top of Corcovado Mountain and asked Princess Isabella for funds. But she did not agree very much with this idea, which was completely abandoned in 1889. In 1921 a second proposal was made for the construction of the statue by the archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro. A collection of the necessary funds for its construction was organized by the Brazilian Catholics. Originally the project had to represent the Christian symbol of the cross and Christ had to have a globe in his hands; it had to be located on a base representing the whole world. However, the project of Christ with open arms was chosen. The sculpture was designed by the French sculptor Paul Landowski and with the supervisor of the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa. Landowski's design was made of concrete and soapstone rather than steel because this material is more suitable for cross-shaped structures. It was decided to cover the outer layer with a material that is both malleable and resistant to extreme climatic conditions. The sculptor Gheorghe Leonidas has finely drawn the features of the face of the Cristo Redentor. On 12 October 1931 the statue was inaugurated on behalf of President Getúlio Vargas in a grand and sumptuous ceremony. Instead it is Italian, the signal for the illumination of the statue that came from the powerful radio station of Coltano, a hamlet of Pisa, by Guglielmo Marconi. In October 2009, the archbishop of Rio de Janeiro Eusébio Oscar Scheid, for the 78th anniversary of the statue, consecrated a chapel under the statue.

You can find the Casa Do Sardo, 40 minutes from Cristo Redendor and 10 minutes from the next stop! It's a restaurant perfect for your regenerating stop! This restaurant reinterprets Sardinian cuisine in an excellent way with Brazilian elements and all with a low average price.

The road you have to travel from the restaurant to the Maracana is just 10 minutes by car! It was inaugurated in the 1950 world championships when Brazil lost in the final to Paraguay. Although his name is now Maracanã, his real name is Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho. The name Maracanã derives from the neighborhood where the structure is located. In 1964 the plant was renamed after the journalist Mário Filho, the journalist who supported its construction. It was originally planned to seat between 140.000 and 160.000 spectators, after the refurbishments requiring only seats, the capacity was reduced to 92.000 spectators. In 2014 for the World Cup which took place at home, the seats were further reduced to 78.838 spectators. The stadium project belongs to the Brazilian engineer Pinheiro Guedes who wanted to build a facility suitable for hosting the first post-war world football championship in 1950. At the Maracanã stadium it is the scene of matches of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the Brazilian major league, and is often the scene of the derbies of the four city cities: Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama. Historic is the goal in this stadium by Pele number 1.000 in the match between his Santos and Vasco da Gama (2–1) on November 19, 1969. Inside you can visit the museum dedicated to Garrincha! Many champions are the champions of the Seleção, the Brazilian national team, who played in this stadium and you can admire in the Hall of Fame: in addition to the aforementioned Pelé, Garrincha, Zagallo, Zico, Romario and more recent ones such as Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Ronaldo, Adriano, Neymar and Marta.

For your afternoon how about going back to RJ's port? Taking the car in 20 minutes you should already be back to see the recent redevelopment of the port of Rio. The Museu do Amanhã belongs to this 2015 port redevelopment and it is a building, designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Its construction was supported by the Roberto Marinho Foundation and cost about 230 million reais. It is an art and science museum where the themes of climate change, environmental degradation and social collapse are addressed.
The museum collaborates with the major Brazilian universities and the most important global scientific institutions; it has the task of collecting climate and demographic data in real time from space agencies and the United Nations. In 2015 the museum received the sculpture Puffed Star II from the North American artist Frank Stella; the work consists of a twenty-pointed star of six meters in diameter which was installed in the swimming pool in front of the museum.
You can find more information about the museum and its exhibits on its website

You can continue strolling along the port of Rio De Jaineiro and admire the redevelopment work that was done between 2014 - 2016. During your walk you will find yourself in front of Muro das Etnias which is a 3.000 square meters long mural, painted with spray paint and acrylic by the Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra between July and August 2016. Its main theme is the union between the different peoples of the Earth and the ethnic groups of the five continents. For its realization the artist asked for the help of two assistants, who painted up to eight hours a day due to the rush to deliver the work by the start of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. It were used 8.000 cans of spray paint, 100 gallons of acrylic paint and 150 gallons of synthetic enamel. This mural is part of a series of works called Looking at Peace made by Kobra in different parts of the planet.

Your evening is ending so why not take the opportunity to have dinner? My advice is to take the car and reach in max 2 hours, the Brazilian chain of pizzeria Mamma Jamma which allows you to enjoy an excellent Brazilian pizza. It is an elegant pizzeria but at the same time economically accessible place.

Your second day is ending so you can safely take the car and in a few minutes, 15 minutes, be at the hotel! You can spend the night or in the attractions offered by the hotel or along the kiosks near the beach. Boa noite!