Amazing place with very high quality sound and great vibe. Went with my family of 4 to see Hamilton…read morede Holanda and the performance was astounding. International quality for 15 Reals ($5). Highly recommended for real Brazilian music. People were very nice and we felt safe.

I went to see a couple shows there (Zaz & Jorge Ben Jor) and really liked the venue. Centrally…read morelocated, right next to Lapa's arcs, it is spacious and open on all sides, with a large dome to protect the venue against bad weather. There is no sitting space with a view of the stage, so it's mainly everybody up on their feet, which gives it a nicer vibe. Only downside is that once you leave your spot, you can't come back into the crowd. In the open area, I found people dancing, drinking and smoking, closer to a festival atmosphere. One thing I liked about this place is that they offer half price to everyone in exchange of 1kg of food, which is a great deal when you want to discover new artists. The venue is equipped with a bar and toilets inside. After the show, it is recommended to be careful in the immediate surroundings of the venue, since many assaults have been reported around the arcs late at night.

Maybe one of our favorite museums in Rio! The building itself was an old palace for Dom Pedro and…read morelooks like it used to be a beauty in its heydays. Now it looks a little neglected but since the university has picked up the museum and invested some money in it, the content inside is quite an impressive collection. It starts with a dinosaur and meteor display on the first floor, with a couple stuffed and preserved animals for touching. The second floor opens with a huge skeleton of a ground sloth, native to Brazil. They have ancient dinosaurs skeletons with a live artist painting Jurassic dinosaur scenes. There's several types of real stuffed birds; harpy eagle, penguin, Jacu, toucan, etc. There is an impressive Egyptian mummy collection along with decorated sarcophaguses. They're kept under ambient conditions (temperature and humidity regulated) so it's difficult to get a good picture but you can clearly see how well preserved even the cotton clothes that wraps the body. They also have the Chilean Atacama mummies too! An indigenous section shows the traditional ceremonies and headdresses. Another shows Candomblé symbols and yet another has Inuit carvings. There's so much to look at! The building itself has a beautiful courtyard and elaborate ceilings. At only R$6 entrance fee, it's well worth it's price.

Every time I go to Rio, I love checking out the exhibits here. This July, I got here just in time…read moreto check out the Picasso and Spanish Modern Art exhibit. Pretty awesome. Though the Japanese art exhibit a couple years ago was super cool. Just FYI, they don't let you take photos of the artwork, but will let you take pictures of the placards with descriptions. The top floor has a permanent money and president office exhibit. Don't miss out on that. Price to get in? Free. Dat line tho. It wrapped around the building, and then some. There are lots of street vendors outside selling filled churros and popcorn. But there are also some sweet and savory snacks available inside. There's also a book shop.

Free exhibit of Salvador Dali's work at the cultural center!! What what!!! Great activity (thank…read moreyou random stranger at a bar for telling me) for a rainy day or if you are in the Centro area. It is kind of confusing when you enter so don't think the exhibit is only a tiny showcase of a few paintings and nose/lip sculpture. You'll have to loop around the museum to find the line to the exhibit where you go up to the first floor on an old elevator that is hand cranked by a human (crazy)! Rumor has it going during the week is easier to get in - we went in around 2pm and didn't have to wait in line but when we were done around 330ish, there was a long line. Come early!

Pretty nice even for the regular theaters. We tried the VIP rooms and they were super nice with…read morerecliners and delicious food. The regular theaters were still fairly nice; clean comfortable chairs. They didn't have doce pipoca (sweet caramelized popcorn) which was disappointing but most theaters don't even have it as an option, maybe if we were at a more popular day. Women's restrooms were not impressive but luckily it's attached to the mall so when the three person bathroom gets crowded you can walk somewhere else. Ticket line was some what slow, with at least three people working the desk but the line barely inching forward with little kids getting restless. Nevertheless, we'd most likely return for the good selection of movies (both dubbed and subtitled).

After the deluxe theater experience, I will never be able to sit in a regular theater with peasants…read moreagain.