Best Rio de Janeiro Nightlife
Local Expert Nightlife Recommendations
Local Expert Nightlife Recommendations
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Best Rio de Janeiro Nightlife by Type
About Rio de Janeiro Nightlife
So you think you can dance? Rio de Janeiro is the place to prove it. The city moves to a constant musical beat and, whether you want to get your groove on to sultry samba, down and dirty favela funk, laid back bossa nova or upbeat forro, in Rio you're never far away from an opportunity to shake your stuff.
While the city is synoymous with samba, that's far from the only musical style to be heard here, and there are nightlife options to appeal to everybody from hip hoppers to metal fans. For a taste of the 'real' Rio, your first port of call should be Lapa, where there are more bars and clubs than you could shake a stick at, and where Friday and Saturday nights see tens of thousands of partiers arrive for the legendary weekend street parties that last until dawn.
For more refined nightlife, Ipanema and Leblon are the top destinations, while Gavea and Barra da Tijuca also offer some good opportunities to mingle with the beautiful people.
About Lucy Bryson
Lucy is a British freelance writer living in Rio de Janeiro since 2007. While there are some things she misses about her home country, the lure of year-round sunshine has proved too powerful to resist.
Read more about Lucy here.