Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro
Zona Central is a geographical area that is the historical, administrative, commercial, and financial centre of the city of Rio de Janeiro and of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Zona Central is a geographical area that is the historical, administrative, commercial, and financial centre of the city of Rio de Janeiro and of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is one of the four zones of the municipality and is administered by a subprefecture, the subprefecture of Centro and Centro Histórico. The subprefecture administers the administrative regions of Portuária, Centro, Rio Comprido, São Cristóvão, Ilha de Paquetá and Santa Teresa, and includes all their neighborhoods, which are: Gamboa, Centro, Lapa, Saúde, Cidade Nova, Santa Teresa, Estácio, Catumbi, Santo Cristo, Paquetá and Glória. Other neighborhoods are also included in the subprefecture, although they belong to the North Zone, such as: Caju, Benfica, Vasco da Gama, São Cristóvão, Mangueira, Rio Comprido and Praça da Bandeira. The limits of the Central Zone are: Catete, Flamengo and Laranjeiras in the South Zone; Alto da Boa Vista, Cidade Universitária, Maracanã, Praça da Bandeira, Vila Isabel, Caju and Tijuca in the North Zone. Since 2009, the region has been undergoing revitalization by the public authorities through programs such as Choque de Ordem, Porto Maravilha and Morar Carioca. In 2023, the neighborhood of Glória, which previously formed part of the city's South Zone, became one of the neighborhoods of the Central Zone through a decree signed by the municipal government.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01National Library of Brazil
The National Library of Brazil is the depository of the bibliographic and documentary heritage of Brazil. It is located in Rio de Janeiro, the capital city of Brazil from 1763 to 1960, more specifically at Cinelândia square.
500 m · Brazilian national library · Wikipedia - 02Rio de Janeiro Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian, better known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro or as the Cathedral of St. Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro, is a cathedral of the Catholic Church and the seat of the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro.
700 m · cathedral in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · Wikipedia - 03Candelária Church
The Candelária Church is an important historical Roman Catholic church in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in southeastern Brazil. It was built and decorated during a long period, from 1775 to the late 19th century.
500 m · church in Rio de Janeiro · Wikipedia - 04Museu Nacional de Belas Artes
The Museu Nacional de Belas Artes is a national art museum located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The museum, officially established in 1937 by the initiative of education minister Gustavo Capanema, was inaugurated in 1938 by President Getúlio Vargas.
400 m · national art museum in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · Wikipedia - 05Teatro Municipal
The Theatro Municipal is an opera house in the Centro district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Built in the early twentieth century, it is considered to be one of the most beautiful and important theaters in the country.
400 m · theater in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · Wikipedia - 06Carioca Aqueduct
The Carioca Aqueduct, also known as Arcos da Lapa, is an aqueduct in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The aqueduct was built in the middle of the 18th century to bring fresh water from the Carioca River to the population of the city.
800 m · 18th-century Aqueduct in Rio · Wikipedia - 07National Historical Museum
The National Historical Museum of Brazil was created in 1922, and possesses over 287,000 items, including the largest numismatic collection of Latin America. The architectural complex that houses the museum was built in 1603 as the St.
800 m · history museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · Wikipedia - 08Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro
The Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro is a museum located in northeastern Flamengo Park, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is in the Centro district, west of Santos Dumont Airport, on Guanabara Bay.
1.1 km · art museum · Wikipedia - 09Museum of Tomorrow
The Museum of Tomorrow is a science museum in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was designed by Spanish neofuturistic architect Santiago Calatrava, and built next to the waterfront at Pier Maua.
1.3 km · science museum · Wikipedia - 10Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro
The Old Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is an old Carmelite church which served as cathedral of Rio de Janeiro from around 1808 until 1976. During the 19th century, it was also used successively as Royal and Imperial Chapel by the Portuguese Royal Family and the Brazilian Imperial Family, respectively.
300 m · Roman Catholic church in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Getting to Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro
- Airports
- Santos Dumont (SDU), 2 km · Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim (GIG), 13 km
- Stations
- Santos Dumont Airport, 1.6 km · Central do Brasil, 1.5 km · Port of Rio de Janeiro, 1.2 km · Flamengo, 3.5 km
- São Paulo → Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro360 km · quickest by air, 4h 27m · R$320–500
- Belo Horizonte → Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro341 km · quickest by air, 4h 59m · R$330–510
- Campinas → Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro397 km · quickest by air, 4h 17m · R$310–490
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inFrom the center of the state capital, it is possible to go to Niterói by urban bus, van and ferry lines.
- Get inThe ferries depart from Praça XV station.
- Get inThe ferry between Rio and Niteroi is a pleasant and affordable trip.
- Get aroundTo get to the Oceanic Area you'd better have a car, otherwise take a municipal bus at the Bus Terminal next to the Ferry Station.
From Wikivoyage: Niterói, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01105 km
- 021,151 km
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If you know how people move in Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro
- Rio de Janeirocity of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil3 km
- Flamengo Districtneighborhood of Rio de Janeiro3.2 km
- Greater Rio de Janeirohuman settlement in Brazil3.2 km
- Laranjeirasneighborhood of Rio de Janeiro3.6 km
- Santa Teresaneighborhood of Rio de Janeiro1.8 km
- Escadaria Selarónarchitectural work in Rio de Janeiro city1.1 km