Rio de Janeiro’s must-see architecture

A museum dedicated to exploring the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead for our planet, and offering a unique perspective on the future of humanity. It features various themes like technology, sustainability, social progress, and scientific advancements.

It’s housed in Santiago Calatrava’s stunning modernist fantasy building, sitting over a reflection pool on the edge of Guanabara Bay.

This 17th-century Portuguese church, Ordem Terceira de Sao Francisco, is the centrepiece of a complex of historic buildings on a hillside on central Rio, and has one of the most spectacular gilt, baroque interiors in the Americas.

Glittering with mirrors, and with gorgeous art deco galleries illuminated by a vast ceiling skylight, this traditional Portuguese coffee house in the city centre is the perfect coffee spot, and a must for lovers of architecture.

This neo-Gothic Verdigris-covered fantasy palace, built during the days of the Empire of Brazil, is Rio’s former customs house. It’s now a small naval museum that you can visit. Tours depart from the nearby Navy Cultural Centre.

Designed in the 1930s by Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer and Lucio Costa, this was the first modernist building in the Americas, presaging a style that was echoed in Brasilia.

Even if you’re not religious, this landmark cathedral is worth a stop to admire the building alone. A towering brutalist cone, its dark, cavernous interior is lit with long strips of iridescent modernist stained glass.

The modest facade of this 16th-century church, Mosteiro de Sao Bento, hides a lavishly decorated gilt baroque interior, which shimmers in the low light.

Brazilian star-modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer’s most famous Rio building sits sentinel over Guanabara Bay like a giant concrete flying saucer. Inside, the ‘MAC’ houses the main collection of Brazilian artist Joao Sattamin, plus works by other Brazilian artists like Aluisio Carvao, Dionisio Del Santo and Lygia Clark.

With a vast reading room lined with galleries of shelves, this neo-Gothic meets art nouveau library looks like a film set from a Harry Potter movie.

A new World Heritage Site, Roberto Burle Marx’s former home sits in stunning gardens, designed by the landscape architect who worked on Brasilia.

Perched over Rio, on a high peak swathed with rainforest and illuminated in brilliant-white at night, this art deco beauty is a global icon every bit as good in real life as it looks in the pictures.

And the views of the city from the statue’s feet are as breathtaking as the Christ itself – the heart-shaped lagoon, Ipanema Beach and the distant bulk of the Sugar Loaf sitting over the shimmering bay.

There are many ways to see it – private car, taxi or organized tour – but the best way is probably via the funicular train, on a ride up through rainforest filled with floating butterflies, in the early morning when the light is golden. If budget allows, take a helicopter from Corcovado or Sugarloaf and go face-to-face with this spectacular statue, rather than staring up from its feet.