La Plage at the Botanical Gardens. Although this has been around for a long time, this was a new…read morefind for us. The mansion that houses the restaurant is old-world elegant. The crowds lined up to take photos in the iconic courtyard, which encircles an old roman styled pool: The ambiance was beautiful, and the food was exquisite! I had one of the best steaks I've ever eaten in Brazil; it was so tender I would have cut it with a fork. My wife had grilled chicken Caesar salad which was very tasty. Then came dessert, along with a full-flavored cup of coffee. After the enjoyable meal, we explored the mansion, which abuts the rainforest. There are walking trails and other scenic areas to sit in and enjoy the plush greenery. I would highly recommend that this stop is on everyone's list of things to see in Rio.

You're coming here strictly for the views/vibe. The food is decent but it's nothing special. If…read moreyou're coming here strictly for the food you'll be disappointed. That's not to say the food is bad, it's alright. But on a Monday morning the wait to get a table was over an hour. It's outdoors so it can get really hot too. Even after we were seated it took FOREVER to get our food. Luckily we were just killing time until our flight. If you have other things to do it could be annoying. I got a burger and it was ok. It was cooked alright but it was a little bland. The fries were also just ok too. It's a nice experience but temper your expectations.

I booked a Jeep tour leaving from Rio to this park in the morning. A lot of locals come here to…read morepicnic, hike, and swim in the lagoons with waterfalls. The tour was really fun with great sights and you really feel like you're in the rainforest even though you're pretty close to Rio. Some highlights: -Mirante das Canoas - Great view at the top of the park above São Conrado beach -Cascatinha Taunay - large waterfall where you can swim in the lagoon below -Mayrink Chapel - a small, pink chapel that is in the middle of the rainforest I would definitely recommend the tour, it was really fun to ride in the Jeep and only requires half a day.

We booked a tour for this rainforest it was a private tour by error but worked out well for us…read more Our guide gave us a nice tour, lots of walking & if u are lucky u get to see some animals, we saw Coati's , a whole family of them very cute. The waterfall was not what I initially thought from looking at pics the waterfall looked like it's something u could enjoy by getting in the water it was not the only area where u could get in the water was like a small looking pond annoying simply because would have been nice to cool off during all the walking. We got to see plenty of nature, trees, caves not terrible overall.

This place is adorable. Perfect for a weekend picnic, a jog, or an afternoon nap. Tons of families,…read morewildlife, great views and trails abound. The only thing is that it is not at all convenient to get to! The parking lot is small if you have a car, the BRT stop that is labeled for the Parque is actually pretty far past it! I have taken an uber both times - much easier. There are drinking fountains and bathrooms, maps, well marked trails. You can really feel like you're out of the city for a few minutes, and then the views open up and you can see how close you actually are. I saw some super cool birds, monkeys, jacareis, and some weird large rat thing that made me say bad words in front of small children. Definitely a nice spot, but not worth a stop if you're just in Rio for a quick visit. More like a local spot.

This was our first time here. We took at cab to the park entrance. You go through a small…read moreneighborhood and up a windy road. The park itself is quite big and is very beautiful. You can see a different side of Dois Irmãos. It has a lot of parking, wide open spaces, plenty of shade and grassy area. There are picnic benches and a kids playground. There used to be a museum but it's closed according to the website. They also have a huge lake. It seems like a beautiful place to spend the day with family and friends. It's in the heart of Tijuca forest. We used it as a starting point to a hike up Vista Chinesa. There's a trail that starts on the right side as you walk in (past the parking, children's playground, and rest area). It starts off paved and the road eventually turns into cobble stone and then dirt. As you start getting deep into the forest you'll eventually see some houses in the distance. There's a clearly marked sign for Vista Chinesa trail which turns off and it's clearly defined all the way to the top. Definitely worth the view!

There isn't much to see in this park except for a few playground equipment and exercise stations…read more The entire park has a solid sand floor which is very uninviting, though a few grassy areas can be had here and there. Seating is plentiful via a low perimeter wall that is shaded in most areas with quite a few trees. Other than that, most people use this park as access onto Ipanema Beach from the main road.

Except for the fact that its on the beach, at first glance it appears like any other park. But if…read moreyou climb the hill you'll find a skate park with amazing views of the city. During carnaval there were fitness dance parties, live music, etc. Good times. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf1luu2BD2E/

One of the most popular landmarks in Brazil, the Selaron Steps are a highlight of the Lapa…read moreneighborhood. we were lucky to be able to stop by twice first time at night which was great because there were not that many people around & the next time during the day so glad we came before just way too many people during the day hard to really enjoy the area. The steps are a fun colorful display of different countries, art, bright colors & traditions infused together to make these crazy colorful steps. This was a nice stop for sure & definitely worth the look.

This is one of the major tourist spots (after Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mt) in Rio. It's…read morejust as crowded but not as much? Maybe I'm used to the chaos of Rio by now haha. It's mainly crowded at the bottom of the steps (duh, you have to walk up the steps). I think it's actually better at the top with the Brazil flag. Also, it's fun to find the tiles with the different cities from all over the world. I loved the Paris ones. You have to go to the other sites early in the morning but this one is fine if you can just walk to the top.