Walking tour Santa Teresa & Lapa: yellow tram, Selarón Steps

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Duration3h 30m

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN · PT

PickupAt your hotel

The yellow tram is still the way up to Santa Teresa, and the walk down passes through thirty years of one artist's staircase.

A walking tour of Santa Teresa and Lapa neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, led by a certified guide in English or Portuguese, that starts with the famous yellow tram ride up to the district, then moves through colonial streets and the Selarón Steps before ending at Cinelândia square. The tour runs three and a half hours and includes a drink—caipirinha, beer, soda, juice or water. Pickup is included; the walk suits all fitness levels but is not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries, cardiovascular concerns or pregnancy.

3h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Santa Teresa and Lapa neighborhoods

Arrive at Santa Teresa Tram station
Take the yellow Bonde tram to Santa Teresa
Walk around Largo dos Guimaraes
Visit the Ruins Park viewpoint
Walk to Selaron Steps in Lapa
Stroll past graffiti to Lapa arches
Explore Cinelandia square attractions

The Experience

Thirty minutes on the yellow Bonde tram carries you up into Santa Teresa, the tram itself a landmark and the ride a panoramic entry into the neighborhood. Once there, the walk moves at your own pace through Largo dos Guimaraes, where nineteenth and early twentieth-century houses line streets that open onto restaurants, bars and views across the city. The guide points out the architecture and the history, but the rhythm is yours—this is wandering with direction, not a march through stops.

Ruins Park sits at the heart of the district, a former mansion turned open-air gazebo where you stand with views of Centro, the Arches of Lapa, Christ the Redeemer and Botafogo all visible at once. From there the walk descends toward Lapa, passing the Selarón Steps—a staircase covered entirely in hand-painted tiles by Chilean artist George Selarón over the course of twenty years. The tiles are the work itself, not decoration added to it; the staircase is what he made.

Lapa spreads below, its walls covered in graffiti and its most famous structure the eighteenth-century aqueduct—the Arches—that once carried water through the city and now carries the tram that brought you up. The walk ends at Cinelândia square, where the Teatro Municipal, the National Library, the Museum of Fine Arts and the last operating cinema in the square sit as the formal face of old Rio. A drink arrives at some point during the tour, and the guide speaks English or Portuguese depending on the group.

What’s included

A certified guide in English or Portuguese.
pickup to the Santa Teresa Tram station.
the yellow tram ride up to the neighborhood.
a drink—caipirinha, beer, soda, juice or water.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Good Guide In Rio

Is this one for you?Pick this if you're staying outside Santa Teresa and want to move through two neighborhoods on foot—the tram gets you there, and the walk connects you directly to Lapa without backtracking.