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Barra da Tijuca
& Western Rio
Neighborhood Top Five
2 Basking on the wide
4 Delving into Brazil’s rich
golden sands of Praia da
Barra da Tijuca (p157).
folk-art traditions at the
impressive Casa do Pontal
(p157).
3 Exploring the lushly
decadent gardens of Sítio
Burle Marx (p157).
5 Looking for wildlife on
the peaceful trails of the
Parque Ecológico Chico
Mendes (p157).
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1 Hiking through
­tropical rainforest, ­enjoying
­memorable views from
rocky lookouts and re­
covering beneath cool
waterfalls in the Floresta
da Tijuca (p161).
Itanhangá
Golf Club
#
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9km RECREIO DOS
BANDEIRANTES
Canal das Ta xas
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Recreio dos
#
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Prainha Ponta
(3km) Tim Maia
Praia de
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5 km
2.5 miles
For more detail of this area, see Map p262 A
1 56
Places
5 Best
to Eat
¨¨ Laguna Restaurante
(p157)
¨¨ Don Pascual (p160)
¨¨ Bira (p160)
For reviews, see p157 A
Best Places
1 to Walk
¨¨ Floresta da Tijuca (p161)
¨¨ Bosque da Barra (p157)
¨¨ Parque Ecológico Chico
Mendes (p157)
For reviews, see p157 A
Best Places
Ba rr a da Tij u ca & W e s te rn Ri o 
7 to Shop
¨¨ Village (p161)
¨¨ Fashion Mall (p162)
¨¨ Barra Shopping (p162)
For reviews, see p161 A
Explore Barra da Tijuca
& Western Rio
The Miami of Rio, Barra da Tijuca is a sprawling ­suburb
with huge malls and entertainment complexes, long
traffic corridors and very little pedestrian movement.
Barra – as it’s known locally – is also where much of
the 2016 Summer Olympics will take place. The beach
here is the real attraction, a wide and lovely 12km-long
stretch of shoreline.
The commercial area feels quite different from other
parts of Rio, as Barra’s development happened relatively
recently. The middle class first began moving here in the
1970s, when cariocas (residents of Rio) fled crowded,
crime-ridden streets to live on an unpopulated stretch
of beachfront. Today, the influx of new residents has
­created crowded, problematic conditions once again.
While first-time visitors to Rio don’t always make
it to Barra da Tijuca, there are some intriguing sights
here, aside from the beach. The Sítio Burle Marx (p157)
­contains some of the city’s most picturesque gardens,
while the Casa do Pontal (p157) houses a fascinating col­
lection of folk art.
Once you get beyond the development of Barra, the
region gets less and less urban, and you’ll soon feel like
you’re deep in the tropics. Some of Rio’s best beaches lie
out this way. There are also great restaurants in idyllic
settings where you can feast on seafood while watching
crashing waves, all of which seems a far cry from busy
downtown Rio.
Local Life
Hangouts Even party people from the Zona Sul will
make the trip out to Nuth (p160), one of Rio’s loveliest
nightclubs.
¨ Beaches The western beaches are quite stunning,
particularly Joatinga, Prainha and Grumari (p160).
¨ Arts Barra’s architecturally striking Cidade das
Artes (p160) is the go-to destination for concerts and
performances.
¨
Getting There & Away
Metrô na Superfície The Barra Expresso metro bus
connects Ipanema/General Osório metro station with
points along Barra.
¨ Metrô The new linha 4 (line 4) connects Barra da
Tijuca to Ipanema. It runs from Jardim Oceânico
station (eastern Barra) to São Conrado, Antero de
Quental (Leblon), Jardim de Alah (Leblon), NS da
Paz (Ipanema) and General Osório (Ipanema and
Copacabana).
¨