Rio Historic Center & Selarón Steps Free Tour

This tour combines Rio's colonial core with one of its most photographed corners: the Escadaria Selarón, 215 steps that Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón covered, tile by tile, with mosaics gathered from more than 60 countries until his death in 2013. Along the way you'll pass Cinelândia's Belle Époque landmarks and the Arcos da Lapa, the 18th-century aqueduct that now carries the Santa Teresa tram.

Your guide traces the line between the formal history of the historic center — colonial churches, imperial squares, grand theatres — and the improvised, ever-changing artwork of the steps, still being added to today. It's a walk that shows how Rio keeps rewriting itself, one tile and one square at a time.