We have a beautifully remodeled colonial apartment with views of the Sugar Loaf Montain and the Bay of Guanabara at the historical neighborhood of Santa Teresa. We are located within walking distance of Lapa (the bohemian distric) and downtown Rio where you'll find most of Rio's museums, historic buildings and streets as well as many bars and restaurants offering live samba and fresh "caipirinha" drinks at the end of the day, especially on the weekends.

The apartment is part of a remodeled colonial house on a hill side, that has been divided into 3 units, one per floor. It has two large bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with douche and bathtub, an open kitchen and a very large living area. The total area is 160m² or 1722 ft².

About 800 meters away is the Gloria Subway Station, and that is close for Rio's standards. Rio's subway is very short in comparison to most major cities around the world. The good news is that the subway here, although small, serves many tourist areas. You could take the subway to Copacabana beach or to Ipanema (a 10 min ride). Other than that, there is a public bus stop 150 meters away from the apartment. A taxi to copacabana beach will cost you around 25 Reais, or 10 euros and should take no longer than 10 -15 minutes. The famous Santa Teresa Trolley is about 150 meters away too, but it will be out of service until 2014.

We'll have a housekeeper clean the apartment for you once a week and before your arrival.

Wifi Internet, Sound system, one 50" TV and one 42" TV with HD Cable System, Fully Equipped Kitchen.

2nd Floor with no elevator

Wikipedia Description!

Santa Teresa is the name of a neighbourhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is located on top of the Santa Teresa hill, by the centre of Rio, and is famous for its winding, narrow streets which are a favourite spot for artists and tourists. Santa Teresa has been revived as an artistic hotspot. It is home to several artists and art studios and galleries. The offer of restaurants and bars is also varied.

Generally speaking we prefer to do simultaneous exchanges, but non-simultaneous can be arranged too.

Places to see in Rio and how to get there from our place:

Most areas of interest are located in The City Center, and the South Area of the city. Santa Teresa is considered by some to be part of the city center, and by others to be part of the south area. Therefore, we are within walking distance to the city center attractions, and well positioned in relation to the rest.
The city center is a non-residential area, and the closest nice residential neighborhood to it is Santa Teresa.

Rio's major tourist attraction are:
Crist the Redeemer (Corcovado Mountain) - Santa Teresa used to have a very famous trolley, but it's out of service due to an accident that happen last year and now the government we'll be changing the railing and all the trolleys... so there will be no trolleys until 2014. Anyway, there is a bus line that does exactly the same route as the trolley, you can catch this bus about 150 meters away from the apartment, and this bus will take you to Corcovado (10 min ride). I recommend going on a Sunday because there is a narrow road through the mountains right next to the entrance to Christ the Redeemer Statue that is close to traffic. You can go for a walk through the forest and shower on fresh waterfall water. The name of the place is "Paineiras" and anyone can point you on that direction. There are other options on how to get to corcovado, including a train ride that starts at a near by neighborhood called Laranjeiras.

Sugar Loaf Mountain - The entrance to the sugar loaf mountain cable car is at Praia Vermelha, at Urca. To get there, you can either take a taxi, about 10-15 min ride, (10 euros) or take a public bus, about 15 min. I usually use my bicycle to go to Praia Vermelha, one of my favorite beaches in Rio. (Praia = Beach). We have a bike system here similar to the one in Paris. I strongly recommend that you pick up a bike at flamengo neighborhood and bike to praia vermelha through the Aterro do Flamengo bicycle path way. The views are to die for!!! Or you could just go for a walk at Aterro do Flamengo. http://www.mobilicidade.com.br/bikerio.asp
Other than that… sugar loath will be at your window every day

Santa Teresa historic Neighborhood - We are located right in the middle of the sights to see in Santa Teresa. Just walk 150 meters up the street and follow the trolley rail on either direction. There are a bunch of nice and fun places for eating and drinking around here too. I can list them for you.

Lapa (bohemian distric) – Santa Teresa is on the hills and if you just walk about 800 meters downhill you’ll be at Lapa. Lapa is within Rio city Center

Rio City Center – This is a very charming area, you can read about all the sites to see in any city guide. To get there you just walk downhill from the apartment. My Tip for you is, behind CCBB (Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil) there are beautiful old streets full of bars and restaurant with live samba starting late afternoon, specially towards the end of the week. This is a happy hour spot.

Copacabana neighborhood and beach - you can get there by subway - 10 min, Gloria station is just downhill from us, by taxi 10 - 15min (10-12 euros), or by city bus 15 min (2 euros)

Ipanema neighborhood and beach - you can get there by subway - 10 min, by taxi 15 - 20min (12-15 euros), or by city bus 30 min, I am considering city traffic here (2 euros). At the very end of Ipanema beach in Leblon beach. That is the cool place to the beach for Cariocas these days.

Botanical Gardens - 15 min by taxi, or 20-25 min by bus

October is spring and that is great time to be in Rio. The weather is mostly sunny but not as hot as summer time. It's a good time to come and go to touristic places like Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer without gigantic lines and to go the beaches and museums.

February is Carnaval season, great for those seeking great parties and the parades. It's Rio at it's best :)


We are looking for a 3 week exchange in october/2012, preferably Manhattan/NYC or Paris.

We are also looking for a two week exchange in february/2013 during Rio's Carnaval, we would like to go to a ski area. Our place is perfect for Carnaval some of the most iconic "carnaval blocos" happen in a walking distance!

We are a couple on our mid 30's, no kids yet. Daniel is a Technology Director for a interactive technology business and I, Juliana, design handbags.
When traveling summer time we're always looking to visit as many museums and art expositions and possible, as well as enjoy live music events and the local gastronomy.
We also love snowboarding.

We are very responsible people and will take very good care of your house. We are non smokers.

We are looking for a 2 or 3 weeks exchange in october/2012, preferably Manhattan/NYC, Paris, Amsterdam or Istanbul. But we are open to suggestions!

We are also looking for a two week exchange in february/2013 during Rio's Carnaval, we would like to go to a ski area. Our place is perfect for Carnaval some of the most iconic carnaval blocos happen in a walking distance!

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