The Real Gabinete Português de Leitura features a facade carved in Lisbon from lioz limestone and shipped across the Atlantic to be reassembled in Rio de Janeiro. This building stands as an example of Neo-Manueline architecture, a style…
Centro Bookstores and Cafes
This walk takes you through the narrow pedestrian lanes of historic downtown Rio to experience legendary coffee houses, majestic libraries, and beloved independent bookstores. You will trace the rich literary and intellectual heritage of the old capital where poets and politicians used to gather.
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1. Real Gabinete Português de Leitura
2. Casa Cavé
Casa Cavé sits on the corner of Rua Sete de Setembro and Rua Uruguaiana, easily picked out by its historic facade that contrasts with the surrounding modern downtown architecture. Founded on March fifth, eighteen sixty, by a French…
3. Confeitaria Colombo
Confeitaria Colombo is defined by its towering crystal mirrors, which were imported from Antwerp and framed in intricate jacaranda wood. Founded in eighteen ninety-four by Portuguese immigrants Joaquim Borges de Meireles and Manuel José…
4. Bookstore Leonardo da Vinci
To reach the Leonardo da Vinci Bookstore, you must descend a large, snail-shaped ramp that winds down into the basement of the Marquês do Herval building on Avenida Rio Branco. The ramp is framed by murals created by the artist Paulo…
5. Livraria da Travessa
Livraria da Travessa is marked by long wooden bookshelves and rolling ladders, designed to keep books within reach and turn the shop into a space for discovery. The original store opened in nineteen eighty-six at number eleven of Travessa…
6. Bookstore and Publishing Folha Seca
Livraria e Edições Folha Seca sits in a historic building on Rua do Ouvidor, a street long central to Rio de Janeiro’s literary and journalistic life. You can identify the space by its deep green and black walls, which provide a sharp…
7. Bistrô do Paço
The Bistrô do Paço occupies the internal courtyard of the Paço Imperial, a colonial-style building constructed in the seventeen-thirties that once served as the residence for the Portuguese Royal Family. You can identify the bistro by its…