Urca a typical carioca neighborhood located between the sea and the rock of Sugar Loaf. There are only 17 streets total, most of them paved in cobblestone, with preserved houses and maintained by the Historical Heritage of Rio de Janeiro, from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
Avenida João Luis Alves is good for a nice walk, and a way to enjoy the sea and the sun, that goes down next to the Christ the Redeemer.
WHAT TO DO THERE?
There is a bar called Bar Urca. There are two doors to the street and a balcony. Upstairs is the restaurant. Locals and tourists love to gather in front of the bar to talk, eat, have a cold beer and enjoy the sunset. The Urca Bar snacks are known internationally ( no exaggeration) and it is recommended in several travel guides. It is on the corner of Rua Candido Gafrée with Av. João Luis Alves (See the REGION).
CURIOSITY: Place your order at the counter, cros the street and sit on the famous low wall of Urca, in front of the sea to enjoy the view. There’s room for everyone. It’s all very informal and relaxed. A great way to enjoy the brazilian life style…
See a 360º picture of Urca on Ayrton site.
Close to the Bar Urca is the entrance to the Forte São João (Fort St. John). It stands as a beacon defending the entrance to Guanabara Bay. Erected at the time when the city was founded, when Portuguese and Dutch fought to conquer the city and control the land. But that’s a story for my next post.
HOW TO GET THERE?
As always, the good old Taxi. Get tips on how to use the taxi service in Rio de Janeiro in the post Public transport – Taxi
METRO BUS INTEGRATION:
Go to the nearest Metro station and board “line 1” (train with red side light), towards Urca get off at the Botafogo station.
Use the map to find the station you are and find out what direction you should take the train.
Follow the signs to the integration Ônibus Expresso (Express Bus).
After passing through the tunnel, look for the SAIDA “E“ (exit “E”).
Outside make a left and the Bus 513 URCA stop is just across the street. Board from the front door and pay the driver. Get off at final stop João Luiz Alves Avenue.
Download here the map of the lines of the Rio Metro and save to your phone. It will be useful to help you find the station where you are and know what direction to take the train . Leaving any of the South Zone neighborhood you will use most often, Line 1, marked on the map in orange, direction Uruguai.
BUS
After reducing the amount of bus lines that circled the South Zone the only lines that go to URCA are: line 513, which integrates with Metro and line 107 coming from the center (In the LINK, click on the line 107 -Central – Urca(circular), to see the itinerary). If you are not near these two lines, you have to take two buses to arrive.
To help you, I advise you to use a very interesting application that has being indicated by the Rio City Hall because it is frequently updated any time there are rerouting of the bus lines. It’s called “Moovit”
Moovit
Download the app for Android or iOS.Have your mobile GPS on.
From the home screen a blue dot locates your position. Click “Get Directions/Find a Line” and enter the address where you want to go.
Attention: is very important that on the next screen,you click where it says “Options” and in the window that opens select “Less transfers” which will avoid routing you on too many bus exchanges.
Click “Let’s Go“. Then you may choose the best option, which is usually the first. one.
The app guides you to the nearest bus stop, tells how long the route is, accompanies you in every step indicating each stop, warns you with audible signal when you should get off guiding you to your exact destination.
SUMMARY : Click Here to print a summary to bring along with you.
