It is a fact that approximately 60% of the days of the year are sunny in Rio de Janeiro. And for those days, beaches and lookouts are the obvious sightseeing choices. But what are the options if it rains during your trip to Rio? In this post, we give you five suggestions of what to do in Rio de Janeiro on rainy days. Read until the end to get a bonus tip!
1. Visit a Cultural Center
Rio de Janeiro has great free Cultural Centers that bring together in one place different activities such as exhibitions and theaters, as well as hosting good cafes and bookstores. Therefore, they are great havens to spend hours on rainy days.
But among many options, there is one that, perhaps, can be considered Cariocas’ favorites, and even the second home of cult Cariocas: the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil.
The beloved CCBB (short version of the cultural center name) is located in a beautiful historic building opened in 1906 in the City Center, right at the junction of Av. Presidente Vargas and Av. 1º de Março, next to the Olympic Boulevard.
Besides its strategic location right in the middle of the financial and cultural center of the city, CCBB is so dear to Cariocas because from month to month, its schedule varies with exhibitions of renowned national and international artists. Over the past few years, the cultural center has exhibited works of impressionists such as Monet, surrealists like Picasso, and contemporaries like Jean-Baptist Basquiat.
In fact, according to a survey conducted in 2013, CCBB Rio is the most visited museum in Brazil, with 2 million and 200 thousand visitors per year, besides being one of the 21 most visited museums in the world in 2015.
CCBB + Confeitaria Colombo
And to complete your visit, go to Confeitaria Colombo (Colombo Confectionery), on the second floor. A branch of the most traditional carioca confectionery established in the city since 1894.
So if it rains, do as many Cariocas! Get the CCBB RJ schedule here, run there and don’t forget to have an afternoon tea at Confeitaria Colombo.
Carioca Tip:
If the rain gives a break, you may want to go to the original branch of Confeitaria Colombo, right next to the CCBB on Gonçalves Dias Street. And, get enchanted by the rich architecture of the late nineteenth-century building. You can also visit Confeitaria Colombo on our experience: Cinelândia Walking Tour. Learn more here.
** Centro Cultural do Banco do Brasil:
R. Primeiro de Março, 66 – Centro. Daily from 9am to 9pm. Closed on Tuesdays. Free Admission. Check their schedule here.
2. Visit a Museum
However, if Cultural Centers have too many varieties to suit your taste or you prefer to delve a little deeper into some subjects, how about choosing one of the 8 museums you should visit in Rio de Janeiro?
In Rio de Janeiro there are museums for all tastes: lovers of art, history, culture, astronomy, technology and the environment. Then just choose the one that suits your style the most. Choose the Museu Histórico Nacional (National Historical Museum) if you want to know more about the history of Brazil. Choose the Museu da República (Republic Museum) if you like Decorative Arts and are interested in the late 19th-century design movements. Choose the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts) if you have a greater interest in History of Art. Or choose the Museu do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow) if you like technology and care about the future of our world.
–> Check our post 8 must-visit museums in Rio de Janeiro.
For a very complete tour, we suggest that you combine your visit to Museu do Amanhã + Museu de Arte do Rio (Museum of Art of Rio). After all, both are located in Praça Mauá, and with a few steps, you can enjoy four aspects of the city: artistic, technological and environmental, architectural, and landscape design. The first two, because of the themes to which these two museums are dedicated. The last two since these two museums are located in Praça Mauá (Mauá square), recently renovated for the 2016 Olympics and facing Guanabara Bay.
** Museum of Tomorrow: Praça Mauá, 1 – Centro.
Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm (with the last check in at 5pm).
Tickets: R $ 20,00. On Tuesdays admission to the Museum is free for all (directly at the ticket office, no online ticket). For half-admission and other gratuities on other days, check the official website of the museum.
** Museu of Art of Rio: Praça Mauá, 5, Centro. Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Tickets: R$ 20,00. Combined: (MAR + Museum of Tomorrow) R$ 32. On Tuesdays, free entrance for all. For half-admission and gratuities, see the museum’s official website.
You can also visit the Olympic Boulevard and its attractions with us. Book your tour here.
Carioca Tip:
The cultural project Música no Museu (Music at the Museum) offers free classical music concerts for visitors from various Carioca institutions to promote cultural and musical knowledge. If you like music, you can join the visit to a Carioca museum with the appreciation of these concerts. See the schedule here.
3. Visit the AquaRio aquarium
And once you can’t go to the beach, how about finding a way to stay close to the sea even in the rain? Our third suggestion for a rainy day in Rio de Janeiro is a new attraction of Rio, and a great option if you are traveling with children: to visit the AquaRio aquarium.
The Rio de Janeiro Marine Aquarium is the largest in South America. Opened in 2016, under the revitalization reforms of the city’s Port Zone, it has 5 floors and 28 tanks with various types of fish. 4.5 million liters of saltwater is stored in the tanks, as well as 8,000 animals of 350 different species from all oceans.
The biggest attraction is the Recinto Oceânico: a sub-aquatic tunnel that allows you to live the experience of diving with fish, rays, and sharks. There are also so-called touch tanks, which offer the visitor the opportunity to approach and touch rays and sharks. Among the species that can be seen are the surgeonfish, grouper, whiting, catshark, lionfish, bamboo shark, moray eels and the white reef shark.
Is it raining in Rio, and the children are excited? Head to AquaRio! Everyone will love it.
If you want to visit Rio de Janeiro as a true Carioca, knowing places that only locals know and enjoy everything that the city has to offer besides the traditional sights, contact us and we will make a custom itinerary for your trip to the Marvelous City!
Carioca Tip:
AquaRio is very close to Museum of Tomorrow and the Museum of Art of Rio. If the rain rains, you can combine a visit to the museums with the AquaRio. By the way, it is worth mentioning that children will also enjoy the Museum of Tomorrow a lot! Book your tour here.
4. Go Shopping
On rainy days (and also on hot days) Cariocas like to go shopping. So if shopping is one of the activities you can’t miss on your trip, run to a mall on a rainy day in Rio de Janeiro.
Numerous malls around the city bring together not only shops, but also restaurants, movie theaters, children’s playgrounds, and some even bowling and a concert hall.
However, in our opinion, the malls that are best prepared to receive tourists are: Shopping Leblon, known for its large showroom and serving the city’s elite; Shopping Rio Sul, more popular than the first and with a wide variety of shops, and Botafogo Praia Shopping, which on its top floor has a beautiful view of Guanabara Bay and the Sugarloaf. All three options also offer movie theaters and fine dining.
On the other hand, if you are staying in Barra da Tijuca, then choose Barra Shopping that takes the concept of shopping to the ultimate consequences. There are more dining options, movie theaters, several shops, bowling, and children’s playgrounds. You can be distracted for a whole day!
** Shopping Leblon: Av. Afrânio de Melo Franco, 290 – Leblon. Monday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm. Sunday from 1pm to 9pm.
** Shopping Rio Sul: Rua Lauro Müller, 116 – Botafogo. Monday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm. Sunday from 12pm to 9pm.
** Botafogo Praia Shopping: Praia de Botafogo, 400 – Botafogo. Monday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm. Sunday from 12pm to 9pm.
** Barra Shopping: Av. das Américas, 4666 – Barra da Tijuca. Monday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm. Sunday from 1pm to 9pm.
5. Go to the movies
When it rains, Cariocas also love to go to the movies! And even if you don’t speak Portuguese, movie theaters can be an option for you. Most movies that air in Rio de Janeiro’s theaters are subtitled in Portuguese but keep the original audio.
If you enjoy blockbuster movies, you will find the ideal movie theaters within the malls listed in item # 4 (Botafogo Praia Shopping and Barra Shopping theaters are better than the other two). However, if you like American-style movies, you can combine going to the movies with item # 1 or even # 2 of our post: Visiting a Cultural Center and/or a Museum.
The Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in downtown, the Instituto Moreira Salles (Moreira Sales Institute) in Gávea, the Museu da República in Catete and the Casa de Cultura Laura Alvim (Laura Alvim Culture House) in Ipanema are some cultural centers that have movie theaters as well as temporary or permanent exhibitions.
But if you dismiss the museums and cultural centers and your idea is just to watch a good movie, look for the cinemas of the Estação group, currently in 4 addresses in Rio: Gávea, Botafogo and Ipanema.
It’s raining, and you like the seventh art? There are movie theaters for all tastes in the city!
** Estação NET:
Rio: R. Voluntários da Pátria, 35 – Botafogo.
Gávea: Rua Marques de São Vicente, 52 – Gávea.
Botafogo: Rua Voluntários da Pátria, 88 – Botafogo.
Ipanema: Rua Visconde de Pirajá, 605 – Ipanema.
Check the programming for Grupo Estação theaters here.
6 – BONUS TIP
Book one of these 3 activities that are true immersion in the national culture
Discover the backstage of Carnival!
In this Carnaval Experience Tour, you will visit the backstage of the show and the history of the birth of the samba and the carioca carnival.
The Carioca Carnival is the biggest event in the city and attracts people from all over the world. By participating in this experience, you contribute to the maintenance of future Carnivals. Book your tour here.
Learn how to make some of the most iconic dishes in Brazilian cuisine!
In chef Simone’s cooking class, you will learn to make a delicious feijoada or a fish moqueca. And also Caipirinhas, starters and side dishes typical in Brazil. While everyone cooks and learns about Brazilian culture, the Chef guarantees good laughs and fun. And the best part comes just when you think it’s over – Time to enjoy all that food! Book your tour here.
Visit the Maracanã Stadium
Learn about the history of another national passion: the soccer game. We have explained to you all about this guided tour here.
These were our suggestions of what to do in Rio de Janeiro on rainy days.
As the song says, “Cariocas do not like cloudy days” and much less rainy days! That’s why we want your days in Rio de Janeiro to be very sunny! But, if it rains during your visit, we hope these tips will be valuable to you. Because, after all, no one gets bored in this Marvelous city.
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