Friday Postcard: Arcos da Lapa

Hi all,

I hope that you had a good week. Maybe you are planning a big night out.

One of the hottest areas in Rio for a big night out is Lapa. It’s a funky area full of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. You often find musicians playing in the streets. It adjoins downtown and also lies at the foot of the arty hillside community of Santa Teresa.

One of the landmarks of Rio is the Arcos da Lapa, or Arches of Lapa. Constructed as a viaduct to bring water to the downtown areas, in 1896 it was converted into a bridge for the bonde, or electric tram, which runs between the downtown and Santa Teresa.

Residents and tourists catch the bonde in the Carioca area of downtown. It crosses the top of the arches, providing some great rooftop views of the downtown areas.

At the top awaits Santa Teresa, an artsy area often overlooked by tourists. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon, particularly on a Saturday or Sunday, when you can enjoy feijoada (a pork and black bean stew – burp) and samba music. The views are magnificent.

Below the arches a different kind of entertainment awaits. On Friday and Saturday nights, people from throughout the city congregate in Lapa below the arches. Lapa is one of the prime party spots in Rio, and a common rallying cry on Friday is “I’ll meet you at the arches!”

Though a sentimental favorite, the arches are, as you can tell from the picture, in need of some sprucing up. Unfortunately, the same can be true of much of Rio. With the World Cup coming here in 2014, and the Olympics in 2016, there is great interest in giving Rio a much-needed scrubbing. (If you shipped a couple of containers of pressure washers here, you could make a fortune.)

So it was with great fanfare that the city government announced this week that the arches will be receiving a good cleaning and restoration. The first scaffolding has already been erected, as you can see in O Globo (The Globe), the largest newspaper in Rio. Work will include restoration and painting of the Arches themselves, new lighting, and a renovation of the bonde ticket office.

If you visit Rio, you definitely should visit Lapa on a Friday or Saturday night, and – assuming you can get yourself out of bed – Santa Teresa the next day.

For more about Santa Teresa, you can preview my walking tour of the area at VisualTravelTours.com.

Oh, you may also have noticed the new sign-up box to the right. Enter your name and email address to receive a free report of my favorite spots in Brazil – that you’ve probably never heard of. I’ll also clue you in on a few places to skip. Lots of good info, and pictures.

Well, have a good weekend. I’m off to rest up a bit.

Até logo! (Until soon!)

John

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