Lapa Night Tour: Samba and Caipirinhas

Learn about the origins of Rio's food, drink and samba in an authentic neighborhood

$204

Private

$47/pp

Semi-private

Book a Tour

Tour Details

About the Tour

Private Tour: $ 204
Semi-Private Tour: $ 47 /PP
Category: Cuisine
Duration: 3 hours
Location: Rio de Janeiro

Photos & Highlights

Immerse yourself in Brazilian culture and social life through music, dance, and drinks
Led by an insider local
Selaron Steps, Lapa Arches, Lapa Neighborhood, and Rio Scenarium

Tour Description

Rio de Janeiro nightlife is famous the world over. Samba dance, its mystifying musical rhythms, and the Brazilian rum cachaça are a few of the cultural delights that have made the Lapa neighborhood the after-hours spot for locals and visitors alike. On this 3-hour Rio Nightlife Tour, led by a local who knows Lapa inside and out, we'll experience the best of this city's night culture both indoors and out as we eat, drink, listen, and perhaps dance our way from the Selarón Steps to the Lapa Arches and Rio Scenarium.

Rio de Janeiro Nightlife

We commence our evening at the awe-inspiring Selarón Steps. A labor of love by Chilean-born Jorge Selarón, this project is a testament to Lapa’s international appeal and is Rio’s second most visited attraction. Next we will lay the historical framework of Rio’s social life with a stop in a traditional Portuguese adega, or wine house, for a taste of Rio’s colonial culinary roots with a glass of vinho verde, made only in the extreme north of Portugal, accompanied with the popular bolinhos de bacalhau. From here, we will take a short walk to learn about how the Portuguese tamed the Rio's wilderness with the construction of the Lapa arches, today the impromptu site for some of Rio’s most innovative music and theater performances.

We then continue our epicurean investigation at a cachaçaria, where we'll get a demonstration of how the caipirinha, Brazil's national drink, is made. We will discuss the historical and social origins of cachaça, the rum from which it's made, including the dependence on slave labor for its production.

Samba Dance in Lapa

We continue the walk with a shift in the discussion from food and drink to music and dance. As Lapa begins to awaken to the thrilling beats of samba, we will stroll past a few of the notable botecos, or bars, which have a roda de samba music jam session. We will discuss the many manifestations of samba as a rhythm, a dance, a story, and in fact, a moment. (Note, we also offer a Rio Bossa Nova Tour.

With the framework now laid, we will conclude our cultural experience at the famous Rio Scenarium samba venue and cultural museum. Acclaimed as one of the top nightlife venues in the world, Rio Scenaium boasts four floors of memorabilia from Rio’s golden era and beyond. We will take a stroll through the venue before settling into our reserved seats to enjoy a live samba band and watch passionate local sambistas show off on the dance floor. If the spirit moves us, our docent may show us a step or two to try as well.

Take Away

Rio’s cultural heart thrives in Lapa, where the tastes of Brazil and the rhythms of samba are kept alive. With our Lapa expert, we will learn the traditions that accompany the street life on this cultural walk through a neighborhood that becomes most animated at night with plenty of eateries, small bars, and jam sessions. This walk is specially designed to connect seamlessly with our Santa Teresa Tour.

FAQ

What is included in the walk?

There is mandatory tasting and venue entry fee that covers a glass of wine, a cocktail, a snack and the reserved "skip the line" entry to Rio Scenarium.

I have dietary restrictions. Can I take this tour?

We will do our best to accommodate you if you are on a group tour by ordering appropriate items. Taking a private tour would allow us to tailor even more fully to your needs. Please note any dietary restriction in the "notes" section when you book, and keep in mind that if you have severe allergies we cannot guarantee that the foods prepared in restaurant kitchens will not be subject to cross-contamination.

Does this walk "skip the line"?

Yes, we use a reservation to enter Rio Scenarium so we will not need to wait in the (sometimes very long) entry line.

This walk takes place around dinner time. Will the tastings be enough for dinner?

The tastings on this walk are mostly of the liquid variety, although one snack is included. At the last venue there is a full menu of great traditional dinner dishes you may order.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Carlos

Carlos is an urban planning and policy researcher at the Federal University, and an assistant professor at the Rural Federal University, both in Rio de Janeiro. He has an MA in juridical science with an emphasis on South American politics and fundamental rights. His main fields of interest are urban/regional planning and policies, architecture, and Brazilian history. He is a native of the northeastern city of Fortaleza, the region of the first modern-age settlements in Brazil. This area has a diverse culture and is the birthplace of many influential Brazilians who have shaped the city, thus giving Carlos the perfect background with which to introduce travelers to Rio's rich history.

Amber Daniela

Amber is an architect, landscape architect, and author by trade, and an urban researcher, teacher, and adventurer by experience. She arrived in Rio de Janeiro and fell in love with the city after a thirteenth-month trek by truck, boat, and bicycle from San Francisco, CA, to Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, traveling alongside a seventy-year-old biking capoeira master. Her professional focus is on small-scale sustainable urban development for and by the public who will benefit from it. To these ends, she and renowned landscape architect Randolph T. Hester Jr. wrote <u>Inhabiting the Sacred</u>, a study of domestic spaces forthcoming from George Thompson Press. Today she calls Rio de Janeiro home, though she was literally born on the road: Rota, her birthplace on the Bahía de Cádiz, España, means in Portuguese 'route, circuit, walk.' Amber loves to share her knowledge of this incredible, beautiful, and interesting city.

Juanjo

Juanjo is an atypical hybrid between an IT professional and a childhood development specialist. He is a dedicated capoeirista (one who practices capoeira, an afro-brazilian cultural expression) and a world-touring cyclist who has ridden from Mexico to Brazil researching and learning about music, dance, and many art forms that enrich the human essence. He believes that the key to sharing knowledge and experience is empathetic engagement with people, be they children or grown-ups. He settled in Rio where he is a freelance photographer and runs an Internet-related business while simultaneously immersing himself in the unique world of Brazil's music, culture, and people.

1 Review

It worked very well. Loved the different experiences.

Kim

Aug. 21, 2016

Tour Experts

All Context Experts are scholars or specialists in their field.

Carlos

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Amber Daniela

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Juanjo

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