Cristo Redentor
A visit to the Christ Statue in Rio de Janeiro
It is probably the most visited tourist attraction in Rio de Janeiro and one of the first things that come to mind when thinking of Brazil: The statue of Christ that overlooks the city.
If you want to go and see the Rio from the Christ The Redeemer statue, there are multiple options. The most convenient is a guided tour and most of them include other points of interest as well. Charlie however wanted to spread things out a bit as she also had her Portuguese classes to take into account. She booked a ticket on the official website of the attraction, and it included a pick-up from several locations in the city. For her, the meeting point at the Copacabana was the most convenient. It is opposite Posto 2 in a small park on the other side of the road.
Charlie had heard before that you could online make online purchases in Brazil if you had a CPF, however this was not necessary to get the ticket, and she only did so one day in advance. She had to choose a time slot for the transfer and the pick-up location and that was it. Confirmation was received instantly, and it contained more information about the meeting point.
Charlie walked along the beach to get there, and it was very easy to find because the vans are parked by the road. There were also multiple attendants walking around the area whom you could ask for information if needed.
Charlie showed the ticket on her phone at the ticket booth, and it was scanned. She was asked to wait until the time stated at her ticket. A few minutes later, and 20 minutes before her time slot, her name was called and a group of 15 people walked over to one of the vans. They were also given a bottle of cold water.
The drive up to the visitor centre Paineiras took around 45 minutes. Once again, there were a lot of people to ask for information. Charlie passed through the visitor centre and a small exhibition and joined the queue for the next van up to the statue. It was another 45 minutes wait time.
The following van ride only took a few minutes to get to the entrance to the statue and viewing platform. Charlie went through the ticket control, up the stairs and she was at the bottom of the statue. It was facing backwards. If you walk around and go to the viewing platform, you’ll see it from the front. That’s easier said than done because there are likely to be a lot of people. After all, this is the most popular landmark in Rio de Janeiro. You will probably also photobomb someone’s shot as it’s impossible to avoid the many phones reaching in all directions to get the best angle.
Views from the Christ statue
Getting the perfect shot of the statue is one thing. The other is the views over the city from up there. You can easily spot the Maracana stadium and the Sugarloaf Mountain. That’s if it’s not cloudy! If it is, the clouds usually move fast, you only have to be patient.
The return journey was similar to the way back up. Charlie waited in the queue for one of the vans to return to the visitor centre. This time, the wait was only a few minutes. Back at the visitor centre, the van back to the Copacabana will leave at exactly the same spot where they dropped you off earlier. You should go to the ticket booth though to get your name on the list for the next van.
