Sacred History Tour (Downtown Area Edition)
Oh, those historic churches...the same ones that since medieval Europe, and also in Colonial Rio, have dictated the rhythm of people's lives by ringing their bells at 6am, midday, 6pm and midnight. Not forgetting those same bells also served the purpose of warning the authorities whenever invaders came.
And of course, THEY ARE LOADED WITH HISTORIC GOSSIP.
It is because of this that I bring you, ladies and gentlemen, this tour of some of the main historic churches of the Downtown Area of the Very Loyal and Heroic City of Saint Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro.
By the way, did you know that two neighboring churches once competed for the title of Cathedral of Rio?
This and other curiosities about churches is what we will be exploring in this tour.
Meeting place:
Cinelândia Subway Station (Exit A)
Recomended Starting time (the main reason being the heat which is far less in the early morning. However, if you don't mind that you can choose another time which suits you better):
08:30
Dates:
Contact me on whatsapp so we can arrange a date which equally suits you better. In the specific case of this tour, I just wouldn't recommend that it be done on Sundays because everything is closed so the downtown area of Rio becomes quite empty.
However, in this particular tour I strongly recommend that it be done on weekdays. Mainly because those are the days in which most of the churches listed here are open for visitors. But if you really can only make it on saturdays we'll go into all of the churches which are effectively open.
How long does it take:
Between 3 to 4 hours depending on the pace of the group. But hold on to thy hats, this time frame is only because, it being a tour and not a race, we walk rather slowly in order for you to better appreciate the attractions. And also naturally there will be bathroom breaks during the tour which are inclueded in this time frame.
Sites Visited: (listed with their names in Portuguese so it will make it easier to look them up on google maps if you want to do so in order to see their location):
Convento da Ajuda
Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Lapa do Desterro
Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião (15-minute break)
Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco da Penitência
Igreja de Santo Antonio
Imperial Irmandade Nossa Senhora do Rosário e São Benedito dos homens pretos
Igreja de São Francisco de Paula
Igreja Santa Cruz dos Militares
Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Lapa dos Mercadores
Igreja Nossa Senhora do Monte do Carmo
Igreja Nossa Senhora do Carmo da Antiga Sé
Igreja de São José
How much and how to pay:
Fridays: 70 reais per person and children younger than 12 pay half price.
Saturdays: 60 reais per person and children younger than 12 pay half price.
Payment Options:
1- Deposit half the amount mentioned above when purchasing and pay the rest in cash on the day of the tour itself (right before the tour starts)
2- Deposit the full amount when purchasing and pay 5% off, making the price per adult person 66,50 for the tour on Fridays or 57 reais for the tour on Saturdays.
THE TOUR WILL ONLY TAKE PLACE WITH RESERVATIONS AND PAYMENT IN ADVANCE ACCORDING TO THE CONDITIONS ABOVE!
How about starting the tour right now!
Watch the videos below and get even juicier gossip about this tour!
Here are the places we'll visit on this tour
