When I arrive in a new city I usually love to start with a walking tour. It gives you bearing and lots of great information about the place too. If you’re a solo traveler, it’s also a great way to meet people (I met so many travel buddies on these). They also bring you to all the tourists spots.

I did it with the free walker tours. Guru WalksGuru walks

Expect beautiful and colourful architecture in this bustling neighbourhood nested in the north of the city. It’s by far the most charming part of town. It’s also very safe so just make around and stop at local shops, cafes and restaurant and enjoy being immersed in Santa Theresa. It’s a great spot during carnival to find Blocos too, aka street parties.

Eat at… Bonde Boca, the restaurant as the friendliest staff, freshest food and finest views.

This beautiful museum is an architectural and inspirational masterpiece. The exhibitions are related to Brazilian culture and heritage. I would saving this one for a rainy day, just bear in mind that if you go then make sure to book your tickets prior online as we had to queue up two hours for tickets.

You can find a link to their website here

Make the most of a sunny day in Rio and chill out on the beach. I would recommend going to Ipanema over Copacabana. The latter was a big disappointment to be honest as it was very crowded and felt poorly maintained.

Another attraction on everyone’s to do list. Expect queues to go up although we went when it was cloudy and it wasn’t very busy. It’s worth going even in a foggy day as the clouds eventually dispersed and we got stunning view of the city. The site feels a bit like Disneyland, expect gift shops, snack bars and lots of tourists like you….

Don’t miss a chance to see this iconic statue up close. Of course, you won’t be alone, expect crowds, unless you’re going on a rainy day but then you’ll miss the views.

There’s a few ways you can go up:

1. Take a taxi/metro to the first cable car, get on two cable cars to the top. This is probably to most costly option.

2. Take a taxi to the second cable car, get a ticket just for one cable car.

3. Take a taxi to the second cable car and hike up.

Wander around this stunning gardens. You’ll discover a wide range of tropical flowers and plants. From there you can also see the Christ Redeemer on his hill too.

Link to the website here

This was one of the highlights of my trip. I hiked up Pedra Da Gavea on my last day, just a few hours before getting on my flight. It was a great way to exhaust myself to be fair. If you want to climb the rock I would recommend getting a guide as you’ll need some climbing ropes to go up. Alternatively, there were people there with ropes offering this service but I’m not sure they are there every day. You count about 4 to 5hours return to do the hike, including a break. Make sure to bring plenty of water and snacks. This sounds evident but we had a few that brought neither with them…

These iconic steps were made even more famous after featuring in a music video with Snoop Dogg. Expect colourful graffiti style steps. They are one of Rio’s most famous landmark so get there early if you want to beat the crowds.

If you’re planning a late one, make sure you do it in Lapa. It is renown for being the neighbourhood where the Cariocas go out. Bars are open late, music is loud and caipirinhas are free flowing.