Estado do Rio de Janeiro Off The Beaten Path

Rio de Janeiro - Downtown

by ATXtraveler

When most think of Rio de Janeiro, most immediately think of Copacabana, Ipanema, Corvocado and Sugarloaf. Couple these with a trip to Maracana Stadium, and most will think the big 5 of Rio have been met. Sarah and I ventured away from the masses one day, to another spot we figured would be full of action packed excitement. What we found instead was a large city's downtown area almost vacant!Granted, this was a Saturday, so we figured there would not be the normal madness of the general workday, but figured there would still be plenty of tourists and businesses open. Wrong! The place looked like a ghost town, with only the occassional person enjoying the park, and a few taxi drivers looking for the odd tourist like ourselves that ventured out.Make sure not to miss the Paço Imperial, Candelária Church, Museu Histórico Nacional, and Rio de Janeiro Cathedral.