16 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Rio de Janeiro - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading

This stunning Brazilian library contains the largest collection of Portuguese texts outside of Portugal itself.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Largo do Boticário

Crumbling remnant of Rio's colonial past tucked behind Corcovado mountain in the neighborhood of Cosme Velho.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Parque Lage

Beautiful public park off the beaten path and away from tourists.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro Cathedral

This massive Brazilian church is built like an angular, technicolor pyramid left by Mayans from the future.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Largest Street Art Mural in the World

Eduardo Kobra’s breathtaking 32,300-square-foot graffiti wall took over Rio’s Olympic Boulevard.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil

The largest library in Latin America owes its existence to an Old World earthquake and a Napoleonic invasion.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Images of the Unconscious Museum

An overlooked collection of over 350,000 artistic works created by psychiatric patients using art therapy.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Escadaria Selarón Mosaic Steps

A 125-meter long "tribute to the Brazilian people."

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Stories About Rio de Janeiro

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Making Sense of the Great Whip Spider Boom

Studying the arachnids reveals as much about the structure of science as it does about the creatures.

by Eric Boodman

Alexsandro Brauna on the shoulder of a giant.

It's Hard Work to Restore Rio's Christ the Redeemer, but the Views Are Amazing

The work is for the 90th anniversary in 2021, but the real party is still a decade away.

This Brazilian navy ship had a strange insect encounter during nighttime operations.

The Ecological Mystery of a Stink Bug Swarm Far Out to Sea

The chance encounter has led to insights on how insects make it to distant islands.

by Erica Tennenhouse

The fire that swallowed Rio de Janeiro's Brazilian National Museum on September 2, 2018.

Air Conditioning Caused the Fire That Claimed Brazil's National Museum

And budget cuts allowed it to spread.

by Evan Nicole Brown

The group known as Turma do Índio—one of the oldest and most respected—in Guadalupe.

In Praise of Bate-Bola, Rio's Seductive, Scary Alternative Carnival

Garish costumes, masked clowns, and favela funk.

February 28, 2019

A meteorite is seen amid debris at Rio de Janeiro's treasured National Museum on September 3, 2018, a day after a massive fire ripped through the building.

Step Inside Brazil’s Museu Nacional, Before the Devastating Blaze

A new digital tour helps visitors jump back in time.

by Jessica Leigh Hester

January 2, 2019

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