Cross Guanabara Bay by ferry to Niterói, walk past Oscar Niemeyer's buildings on the Praça Popular at the start of the Caminho Niemeyer, and follow the shore to the Boa Viagem headland and his flying-saucer Contemporary Art Museum, with Rio and the Sugarloaf across the water.
Best time: Tuesday to Sunday (the MAC is closed on Mondays; Tue-Sun 10:00-17:30 per its Google listing, Sept 2026). Take the ferry from Praça XV (BRL 5.00) and return for sunset over Rio.
The route, stop by stop
- 1Estação Arariboia (ferry terminal)
Ferries from Praça XV land here in central Niterói. 5 min
- 2Caminho Niemeyer
Niemeyer's buildings on the Praça Popular, begun in 2002 on the Aterro da Praia Grande, including the Teatro Popular and the Roberto Silveira memorial; the full Caminho stretches 11 km along the shore to Charitas. 30 min
- 3Praia da Boa Viagem
Small beach facing the Ilha da Boa Viagem, named after the sailors who knelt to give thanks for a good voyage on entering or leaving the bay. 15 min
- 4Museu de Arte Contemporânea (MAC Niterói)
Niemeyer's 1996 museum at the Mirante da Boa Viagem, 16 m high with a 50 m cupola, holding João Sattamini's collection of 1,217 works, the second largest contemporary art collection in Brazil. 60 min
More walks in Rio de Janeiro
- Praça XV to São Bento: the colonial and imperial centre
- Pequena África and the port: Valongo, Pedra do Sal and Morro da Conceição
- Cinelândia to Lapa: belle époque avenues, the aqueduct and the Selarón steps
- Santa Teresa by bonde and on foot
- Glória, Catete and the Aterro do Flamengo
- Urca: Praia Vermelha, the Cláudio Coutinho path and the Mureta at sunset
- Leme to Arpoador along Copacabana beach
- Ipanema to Leblon: bossa nova streets and the Mirante
- Parque Lage, the Botanical Garden and the Lagoa
- Tijuca Forest: Cascatinha and the Mayrink chapel
- Laranjeiras and Cosme Velho: Parque Guinle to the Corcovado train