Rio’s Historic Downtown, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

If you can tear yourself away from the beautiful beaches and incredible landscapes of Rio’s coastline, you’ll find a treasure trove of sites in Rio’s historic downtown. With a long history as capital of both Portugal and Brazil, there is no shortage of heritage sites to visit.

In November, 1807 the Portuguese Royal Court relocated from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro to escape Napoleon’s invasion. Even though Brazil’s colonial capital had been moved from Salvador to Rio 45 years earlier. It was still a backwoods town at the time, without roads, a sewage system or many common conveniences of the time. Since it was to become the capital of Portugal, changes had to be made. The end result was Rio soon became a modernized city filled with public libraries, botanical gardens, public squares and opulent government buildings. Rio continued as Brazil’s capital after it achieved independence from Portugal and the construction of wonderful buildings continued. It wasn’t until 1960 that the capital was moved to Brasilia.

Today, Rio’s downtown is a mix of heritage buildings from the Portuguese Royals, its time as capital of an independent Brazil and more modern structures. Some have been lovingly restored, while others are in need of TLC. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).