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Barra da Tijuca
District in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Barra da Tijuca

Barra da Tijuca, usually known as just Barra, is an upper-middle class neighborhood in the Southwest Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, located in the western portion of the city on the Atlantic Ocean.

Plan a trip to Barra da Tijuca→From São Paulo

Barra is well known for its beaches, its many lakes and rivers, and its lifestyle. This neighbourhood represents 4.7% of the city population and 13% of the total area of Rio de Janeiro.

How locals move

Getting around Barra da Tijuca the local way

  • Get in]] Ferries (barcas) connect neighbouring Niterói to Rio de Janeiro and arrive at Praça XV (see down), in the city centre.
  • Get aroundAmong the public transportation modes, there is subway, heavy rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, local buses, microbuses, cable cars and ferry boats.
  • Get aroundFerry boats depart from Santa Teresa Tram, Centro Corcovado Rack Railway, Zona Sul Sugarloaf Cable Car (Zona Sul) Buses are still the cheapest and most convenient way to get around the South Zone (Zona Sul) of the city due to the high number and frequency of lines running through the area.
  • Get aroundExcept for minibuses, buses now have two doors: passengers get in through the front door and get off through the back (it was otherwise until 2001–2002).
  • Get aroundBuses 511 (Ataulfo de Paiva) and 512 (Bartholomeu Mitre) are also popular as they take you to Urca for the station to take the cable car up the Sugarloaf mountain.
  • Get aroundSince the city grew around the Tijuca Range mountains, these neighborhoods will never be served by the subway, but you now can take the integração (connection) minibuses.
  • Go nextFrom Rio to Niterói it's a short ferry ride or you go by bus.
  • Go nextThe most northeastern municipality of Rio metropolitan area, it is another peripheral municipality which has become an attraction for trekking, mountaineering, rappelling and other types of extreme sports and ecotourism.

From Wikivoyage: Rio de Janeiro, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.