Downtown Ancient Rio Tour: Visiting Historical Landmarks with Hotel Pick-up and Drop-off

Step back in time and explore the historical landmarks of downtown ancient Rio on this half-day tour. Discover the rich history and culture of the city as you visit Cinelandia Square, Praça XV, Arco dos Teles, CCBB, and Mosteiro de São Bento.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Cinelandia - From the Cinelandia Square you can see the most important historical and political buildings in Downtown Rio: the Municipal Theater, the National Library, the National Museum of Fine Arts and the Municipal Chamber of Rio.
What's Included
  • Comfortable air-conditioned transport
What's Not Included
  • Snacks
  • Lunch
Additional Information

Join us for an exciting journey into the past. Perfect for lovers of history and arts, our half-day tour offers some of the best cultural experiences. We’ll start our exploration at Cinelandia Square, ringed by iconic structures like the Municipal Theatre, National Library, Fine Arts National Museum, and Municipality Chamber of Rio. Our expedition…

Location
Hotel Rio Othon Palace
Avenida Atlântica
If you do not provide us the pickup location at the time of booking and you do not inform us about it later, we will assume you will meet us at the Meeting Point at the Front Desk of the Rio Othon Palace (Avenida Atlântica, 3264 - Copacabana).
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(11 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Nilufer_b
Dec 14, 2023
Great tour with a good guide. - This tour was excellent, it helped us to get to know Rio better, more in depth. Our guide was very nice.
Review provided by Viator
Petergf327he
Oct 5, 2023
Experience history of Rio and Brazil with an amazing guide - Monica is an amazing guide. She is very knowledgeable about the history of Brazil and the city of Rio. The tour really gave me a glimpse of several 100 years of history in just 4 hours. From the oldest churches and buildings to street art and Olympic venues, we have explored a lot and visited many interesting places. Monica made the tour fun and she was very engaging. We also visited the Colombo bakery and had time for some traditional cake. I highly recommend the tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E2487afdanielaf
Aug 14, 2023
Discover some beautiful and interesting corners of Rio - The tour was amazing! We first took a look at Santa Teresa, which is a charming part of Rio with lots of nice corners to discover, then went to some historical sites and heard about the history of the city. It was absolutely worth it to see these parts of Rio!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alexandrebs2023
Jun 14, 2023
Great experience! - It was a great way to see various parts of Rio that are hard to see and get to. We saw hidden residential neighborhoods and old historic downtown. We also saw scenic views and had lots of photo ops. It was both driving around and walking so it wasn’t exhausting. We were a group of four (5 with guide) so we got around by car stopping at 10 to 12 different places. We went to places that larger groups can’t go to easily since larger vans or busses don’t fit. Guide was kind, thoughtful, informative, flexible, and spoke excellent English. I have been to Rio many times before and most of what I saw was new to me. It was very safe way to share Rio with my family.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Yuliya_g
Dec 20, 2022
Dario is the best !!! - Our tour guy Dario was excellent. Very knowledgeable, experienced, polite and attentive. Our tour was so wonderful ! Lovely afternoon in Rio. Highly recommended
Review provided by Viator
Johnrv5067sy
Dec 11, 2022
This tour and guide really special. - A really excellent tour. Our guide, Monica B, was great. Superb English, really interesting and v good at pacing and slanting the tour in tune with our interests. We have been travelling to some amazing places in the last 3 weeks, and reckon this guide and tour to be particularly special .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nickrb1771jv
Nov 10, 2022
Nice old Rio tour including santa teresa - we had an excellent guide. He included a ride on the tram that weaves through Santa Teresa and that was a nice cool (i.e. breezy) ride that gave us a good feel for the neighbourhood. You'll have to talk your guide into it, it's not part of the old city tour, but for me it was the best part.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Voyager07697456189
Jul 12, 2022
Monica was very knowledgeable and flexible with what we wanted to see. She gave us options and spoke excellent English. - Rio with Monica is a must! We learned so much. It was interesting with a lot of variety to keep everyone engaged. Her passion for Rio is contagious!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
David_d
Apr 22, 2024
A tour to avoid: it did not deliver as programmed - None of the downtown buildings are open on Saturday and Sunday. I paid to visit these buildings and paid some entrance fees. The tour should not be conducted on weekends. No prior information about the closures was advised until the guide turned up and explained the situation, as we waited for the driver who was late. He had no knowledge of the city and the your guide had to direct his every move. More than half the tour was taken up with looking in shops at Santa Theresa, which wasn’t on the tour programme.
Review provided by Viator
From $60
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).