It took me a little while to find the entrance on foot after coming from the Museu do Amanha…read more Don't let the short hike up the hill or the plain exterior dissuade you from visiting this beautiful gilded monastery. This monastery was still active and in use. If you're lucky and come on a Sunday morning then you can enjoy the monks' Gregorian chants. Inside the church it seemed like every inch from floor to ceiling was intricately decorated or painted. Gilded gold leaf covered many of the wooden sculptures. The attention to detail by those early sculptors and artists was impressive and I spent more time than I realized. Tourists weren't the only visitors as a guided tour was hosted by one of the monks leading a contingent of priests (?). One surprise was seeing a security guard wandering constantly inside the church. I think he was there to keep tabs on the visitors! Overall well worth a stop when visiting the Centro area of Rio.

We had an overnight cruise stop in Rio de Janeiro and booked a private tour the second day so we…read morecould see more of the city (historic district focused). One of our last stops was to the top of the hill to the Monastery- a service was just finishing up so we were able to get a couple photos before we left. So beautiful! There is a school here that goes all the way thru college. Very peaceful place.

Take a moment to stop in to this cathedral- it's stunning. No entrance fee, just take off your hat…read moreand follow the rules. Our guide said this cathedral can hold 21,000 people standing and they fill it to capacity when the pope visits. Absolutely stunning architecture!!

We visited this amazing cathedral as part of a city tour in Rio and were amazed!…read more From the exterior you might never guess it's a cathedral based on its unique pyramid shape. We learned the architect was a fan of the Mayan pyramid temples and wanted to build a similarly shaped cathedral. The inside is spacious and massive with so many amazing design details. There is a wonder peaceful and cool stillness inside as well which makes it a great place to sit and collect your thoughts for a little while. We really enjoyed strolling around inside and being in awe of this amazing structure!