Sambódromo da Marquês de Sapucaí

I like Rio - so green, but am not a fan of carnivals. Went only because our Antarctic trip ends during the 2024 Rio carnival.

The venue was built in 1984 and renovated in 2012. It's narrow and long, with seats on either sides.

The venue. Uber can't get you to the entrance due to road closure. It's like any big events, with people, food vendors (definitely less, much less than the major league stadiums in the US), special events areas, securities, garbage removal, ...

Sitting there watching the parade, I'm wondering where the stale costumes are made. Many floats need few big men to push

We didn't go for the Sunday and Monday, which are the most important days because I'm not all that crazy for the carnival. We left during the first intermission. The ultimate winner is Viradouro.

... thought the streets gatherings aren't that bad, especially these beautiful people gathered outside of our hotel -:)

This was fine. Not too much going on outside Carnaval. The Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a venue for the Rio Carnival. Also known as the Sambódromo, it hosts competitive samba school parades attracting thousands of spectators annually. Designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, the structure serves as a multi-purpose venue and symbolizes his post-dictatorship work. Official Carnival parades, televised nationally, occur over four nights just before Lent.

What are the odds to be invited to a wedding in Rio in April and coincides with the biggest show on the planet Earth: the Rio's Carnaval! When I heard that the Carnaval was this year postponed 2 months due to covid, I could not believe how lucky I was. Since I was a kid I always wanted to go. I learned Portuguese and even to dance samba because I loved the music, the tropicalism, the language, the culture...and somehow it took me so many many years to finally go. I even was for years fan of Mangueira samba school, just because their colors are green and pink, my favorites!

My friend (the bride) organized the whole excursion for more than 50 of us. It was a fantastic organization and I suggest everyone buys their tickets well in advance and get into a camarote if possible. Camarotes are those somehow private areas with lounges, music, catered food and drinks...of course you pay the price and this year was around $400 to get into one of these. You will have prime view and you will feel super pampered plus you will get a shirt indicating what camarote you belong to. We were in Folia Tropical and it was phenomenal, in terms of food, drinks, atmosphere, the music, the view to the parades. I even cried of happiness, I could not believe I was there! It was like a dream.

Logistics wise was a bit stressful, though. No one asked us for the covid vaccination card and there were way too many people. Of course, for 2 years no show, this year 2022 was even more spectacular, but I found it chaotic to go back to our hotels. On the way there, the bus was organized, in the way back we have to do different line depending on what area of Rio you were headed to. There was a lot of confusion and tiredness as you can imagine the energy spent and leaving like 4 am knowing that the party was going to keep going but you have a limit of energy. Overall, a once in a lifetime experience and what better than to be with a great group of awesome people sharing the moment.

We went to see one of the main parades during Carnaval and it was definitely worth it. The samba schools put on an extravagant show.

That said, the Sambadromo is not a nice venue. Our taxi dropped us off about .75 miles away due to the traffic and although we were able to walk to it in 10-15 minutes, we were on the "wrong side" of it. Walking around it is no easy feat. We had to walk through some less than ideal neighborhoods and crossed temporary overpasses that I was praying wouldn't collapse while we were on them.

Once we finally got to our section, it was basically a mob of people. People were blocking the walkways and it was so difficult to find a place to stand. Just be prepared if you go. The parades are fantastic; the venue is not.

A fabulous experience, it is really beautifull.
Bye your ticket early