Guided tour

Santa Teresa & Lapa With Tram Ride And Selarón Steps

Activity provider: C2RIO TOURS & TRAVEL
Guided tour

Santa Teresa & Lapa With Tram Ride And Selarón Steps

Activity provider: C2RIO TOURS & TRAVEL

From US$ 49.45 per person

Get to know many of the most traditional places in Rio de Janeiro: begin with a tram ride from Downtown to Santa Teresa over the Lapa Aqueduct (“Arcos da Lapa”) and visit the Ruins Park, Selarón Steps, Passeio Público, Cinelândia, and Confeitaria Colombo.

About this activity

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Covid-19 precautions
Special health and safety measures are in place. Check your activity voucher once you book for full details.
Duration 4 hours
Check availability to see starting times.
Live tour guide
Spanish, English, Portuguese
Pickup included
• Hotels in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone (Copacabana, Leme, Ipanema, and Leblon). Passengers lodged in Hostels or B&B will be informed of nearest hotel for pickup/dropoff • Please inform your hotel to arrange your pickup • Pickup time in Copacabana, Leme, Ipanema and Leblon: between 1:10-1:55 PM; drop-off around 06:00 PM • Meeting point for participants not staying in the pickup zone: C2Rio Tours & Travel - Praça do Lido (Rua Ronald de Carvalho, 21 - Copacabana) at 12:45 PM

Experience

Highlights
  • Ride the most traditional tram in Rio de Janeiro
  • Explore Santa Teresa and experience its special flair
  • Enjoy Rio's mesmerizing landscape from the Ruins Park
  • Walk down the colorful stairway of the Selarón Steps
  • Visit Confeitaria Colombo and try Brazilian snacks (the cafe is closed on Sundays)
Full description

Begin your tour at Downtown (“Centro”), where you will get the tram (“bondinho”) to the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa. You will drive over the Arcos da Lapa, the aqueduct used to connect water from Santa Teresa to Downtown and one of Rio’s most traditional postcards. At Santa Teresa, you will experience an interesting local atmosphere. Walk through the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa, a bucolic area in Rio de Janeiro. Located on a hillside, Santa Teresa has become a district of cultural interest because of its architectural value and prime location, famous for its winding, narrow cobblestone streets and a favourite spot for artists and tourists. A flair similar to Montmartre, in Paris. You will visit the Ruins Park, a public park with an art gallery built around the ruins of a mansion. Take a minute to enjoy the city’s landscape, in particular the Downtown area and the Sugarloaf Mountain. Up next, you will walk down the colorful Selarón Steps, one of Rio’s landmarks, and arrive at the district of Lapa, the zone with the most traditional nightlife. Take a stroll in the Passeio Público, the oldest public park in South America, to reach Cinelândia, a lively spot in Rio thanks to its bars, restaurants, and cultural attractions. Among many remarkable constructions in the area, you will notice the Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro’s most traditional theatre and opera house, as well as the Biblioteca Nacional, Brazil’s most important library. Your last stop will be at Confeitaria Colombo, a permanent member of all must-see cafés rankings around the world. Enjoy the opulent art nouveau decoration with huge stained glass, tiles, and mirrors imported from France, Portugal, and Belgium. You can finish your tour tasting one of the Brazilian traditional snacks – such as the coxinha de frango (‘little chicken thigh’) – or desserts – such as the brigadeiro (‘brigadier’) in what was one of Rio de Janeiro’s most prestigious places at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Includes
  • Guided half-day walking tour
  • Santa Teresa tram ride included
  • Professional guide with live tour commentary in English, Spanish, and Portuguese
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off from hotels in South Zone (Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Leme) hotels
  • Comfortable air-conditioned van with maximum capacity of 19 passengers
  • All taxes, fees, and handling charges
  • Food and drinks (available for purchase at Confeitaria Colombo)
  • Gratuities (optional)

Select participants and date

Participants

Date

Important information

Know before you go

  • Roundtrip transportation available from South Zone (Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Leme) hotels via air-conditioned van
  • Gratuity is not included and is left to individual discretion
  • This tour operates rain or shine
  • Maximum group size is 19 people
  • Wear comfortable shoes for a walking tour
  • Confeitaria Colombo is closed on Sundays
  • The Ruins Park is closed from Monday to Wednesday
  • This experience requires a minimum number of participants. If the experience is canceled due to lack of participants, the local partner will offer a different date or a full refund
Customer reviews

Overall rating

4.7 /5

based on 109 reviews

Review summary

  • Guide
    4.8/5
  • Transportation
    4.8/5
  • Value for money
    4.4/5
  • Safety
    4.9/5

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Star rating:

Very nice tour. There were only three of us (+ guide), lucky us ... so the guide had a lot of time for us. The tram ride was really fun, you have a view of the streets of Santa Teresa and the many favelas of the city. You walk back part of the way through very nice streets and then you go down the Escadaria Selarón from above. A break in a nice cafe there, then continue on foot to the center. The tour ended in a delicious cafe in the city center, unfortunately it was very busy there and there was little time to enjoy the cake + coffee (that's the only thing to criticize. However, overall we were a bit in default as we took our time in everything (therefore it may be that there is usually more time left in the cafe at the end before being picked up again). The guide took a lot of pictures for us and told a lot of interesting things. Very clear recommendation !!!

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October 31, 2022

The driver and tour guide was very prompt came on time to pick and drop us. The guide was very informative, proactive and very interesting to listen to he spoke in 3 languages. St.Theresa, Lapa and the steps was a really beautiful place to visit. Food and drink is not provided, however, the tour guide considered taking a break and let us get refreshments in between.

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March 21, 2020

The tour was nice and enjoyable. The site was pretty nice as well as the ride with Tram. Santa Teresa is a good place to go due to its plenty of different restaurantes and sight seen. Perhaps, I would like to spent a litte bit more time to spare time and get some drink and snack in those nice restaurants and feel better the surroundings. The guide tour was cool and explain very well.

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March 19, 2020

Product ID: 180335