Samba, Bossa and the Sea Wall: a Night Out in Rio

A night in Rio follows the light: drinks on the sea wall as the sun goes down, cachaça and petiscos in a boteco, and then music, from the jazz of the Avenida Atlântica to the samba of Lapa. Here is how we would spend one.

A night in Rio follows the light. It starts on a sea wall as the sun drops behind the mountains, slows down over cachaça in a boteco, and ends in music: jazz and bossa nova on the Avenida Atlântica, or samba in the old streets of Lapa.

None of it is formal, and much of it happens outdoors. Here is how we would spend a night in the city.

Sunset on the sea wall

Begin at Urca, under Sugarloaf. Bar Urca has stood on Rua Cândido Gaffrée since 1939: order at the counter, carry your drink across the road and sit on the mureta, the low sea wall, with the bay in front of you and Sugarloaf at your back.

Cachaça and the boteco

Next, a boteco, the neighbourhood bar where Rio really drinks. In Leblon, the Academia da Cachaça on Rua Conde de Bernadotte pours Brazil’s own spirit alongside Brazilian food; in Ipanema, Bar Astor is a favourite stop.

Bossa nova and the Avenida Atlântica

Copacabana is where bossa nova grew up. Churrascaria Palace, on Rua Rodolfo Dantas since 1951, says it was born with the music in the Golden Years, and honours it with its panel, the “Santa Ceia da Bossa Nova”. In Lapa, the bar at the Vila Galé hotel is named after Vinícius de Moraes, the poet of bossa nova.

For live music on the seafront, Blue Note Rio is at Avenida Atlântica 1910 and publishes its programme on its own site. Further along, Bar Spirit Copa is one of the bars of the Fairmont, at the Arpoador end of the beach.

In Rio, the night starts at sunset and ends in Lapa.

Samba in Lapa

Then go to Lapa, under the white arches of the old aqueduct. Carioca da Gema, on the Avenida Mem de Sá, gives its stage to samba de raiz, traditional samba, most evenings. Round the corner on the Rua do Lavradio, Rio Scenarium fills seven spaces over three floors with live Brazilian music from Wednesday to Saturday, and serves samba with feijoada on Saturday afternoons.

Beside the arches stands Circo Voador, one of the city’s great concert stages: check its programme before you go.

Did you know? Bar Urca dates from 1939 and, in its own words, was founded by German and Swiss immigrants.

Our advice

Our advice: watch the sunset at Urca, eat late like the Cariocas, and book Blue Note Rio or a Lapa show ahead at weekends. Take a registered taxi or a booked car between neighbourhoods at night, and keep your phone out of sight in the streets of Lapa.