Did you know? · Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro fun facts
Things you might not know about Rio. Every fact comes from an official or primary source, named alongside it.
Updated October 2026
A city listed for its landscape
In 2012 UNESCO inscribed “Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea” on the World Heritage list: the peaks of the Tijuca, the Corcovado and Sugarloaf, the Botanic Garden, the Flamengo park and Copacabana’s shore. The Valongo Wharf followed in 2017, Paraty and Ilha Grande in 2019 and the Sítio Roberto Burle Marx in 2021.
A mountain railway older than the statue
The Trem do Corcovado has climbed through the forest from Cosme Velho since 1884, in its own words (tremdocorcovado.rio): long before the statue of Christ stood on the summit.
A cable car from 1912
The cable car linking Urca, the Morro da Urca and Sugarloaf has run since 1912 (bondinho.com.br).
Old rooms for coffee
Casa Cavé dates itself to 1860 (casacave.com.br), Café Lamas to 1874 (cafelamas.com.br) and the Confeitaria Colombo to 1894 (confeitariacolombo.com.br). Bar Urca was founded in 1939 by German and Swiss immigrants, in its own words (barurca.com.br).
A hotel for a centennial
The Copacabana Palace dates from 1923, the centennial of Brazil’s independence, in Belmond’s words (belmond.com).
Questions and answers
When did the Sugarloaf cable car open?
In 1912, according to the Parque Bondinho Pão de Açúcar.