Cidade do Samba Behind-the-Scenes Carnival Tour in Rio de Janeiro
From $57.73
Price varies by group size
Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance. Learn more
Safety measures
3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Hotel pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English and 5 more
Overview
Get a glimpse behind the scenes of Carnival during this tour of Cidade do Samba. On this outing, follow your guide on a tour of the Acadêmicos do Grande Rio's warehouse, one of Rio's top samba schools, where they store their outrageous costumes and grandiose parade floats. Toast to your insider's experience with a traditional caipirinha while you learn about the history and culture of the Carnival in Brazil. Brave visitors can even try on a few feathered costumes. Round-trip transportation from central Rio hotels is included.
- 3.5-hour warehouse tour of Cidade do Samba
- Explore the floats and costumes of Acadêmicos do Grande Rio, one of Carnival’s top samba schools
- Try on Carnival costumes, and drink a caipirinha
- Learn about the history of Carnival and Rio's samba schools
- Pickup and drop-off from most Rio de Janeiro hotels included
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Following pickup at your Rio hotel, board your comfortable vehicle for the ride to the neighborhood of Gamboa, where Rio's samba scene was born. This warehouse complex holds the elaborate props, costumes, and floats for all of the city's top samba schools, which are broken out once a year for Carnival.
Walk through the Cidade do Samba with your local guide and learn about the history, culture and traditions of Carnival. Get an insider's perspective on the parade and samba competition in the Sambadromo while you walk through G.R.E.S. Acadêmicos do Grande Rio's backstage area to see their preparations in progress.
Check out the racks bursting with over-the-top costumes. Learn about the stories and legends underlying the pageantry as your guide explains Carnival’s pagan origins that began in ancient Greece, continued through the European Middles Ages in Europe and arrival in Brazil with Portuguese colonization.
Sip a caipirinha, Brazil's national drink, which might give you the courage and to try on one of the outrageous costumes before heading back to your hotel for drop-off.
Walk through the Cidade do Samba with your local guide and learn about the history, culture and traditions of Carnival. Get an insider's perspective on the parade and samba competition in the Sambadromo while you walk through G.R.E.S. Acadêmicos do Grande Rio's backstage area to see their preparations in progress.
Check out the racks bursting with over-the-top costumes. Learn about the stories and legends underlying the pageantry as your guide explains Carnival’s pagan origins that began in ancient Greece, continued through the European Middles Ages in Europe and arrival in Brazil with Portuguese colonization.
Sip a caipirinha, Brazil's national drink, which might give you the courage and to try on one of the outrageous costumes before heading back to your hotel for drop-off.
Itinerary
After hotel pickup, travel to the mandala-shaped Cidade do Samba, a warehouse complex in Gamboa, the birthplace of Rio de Janeiro's samba. More than 80 samba schools with 100,000 dancers participate in Carnival, but each year only the top 12 to 14 samba schools form the Special Group, aka the First League, which build and store their magnificent floats and costumes at Cidade do Samba. As you explore the complex with your guide, learn about the history of samba as well as the Carnival parade and competition in the Sambadrome.
Although Carnival explodes into action only once a year, backstage preparations continue on a daily basis. Want to know more? Head inside the warehouse of G.R.E.S. Acadêmicos do Grande Rio, a local-favorite samba school established in 1988.
With your guide leading the way, meander through the warehouse and marvel at the floats in progress. Eye the rows of racks bursting with eye-popping costumes. Learn about the allegories and stories underlying the pageantry, as your guide explains Carnival’s pagan origins that began in ancient Greece and continued into the Middles Ages in Europe before arriving in Brazil through Portuguese colonization.
Wondering how those costumes would look on you? Try them on and find out! Slip on some outrageous ensembles and snap memorable pics to upload on your social media accounts.
Finally, toast your visit with a caipirinha, a cocktail made with cachaça (sugar cane hard liquor), sugar and lime, before taking transport back to your hotel.
Duration: 2 hours
Admission Ticket Included
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Cidade do Samba Behind-the-Scenes Carnival Tour in Rio de Janeiro
3 hours 30 minutes
Free Cancellation
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$57.73
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