Copacabana promenade (Calçadão)

The Copacabana promenade (calçadão) is the Portuguese-stone pavement that runs along Avenida Atlântica from Leme to Posto 6, for about 4 kilometers, according to the English Wikipedia. Its black and white waves have become a symbol of Rio and appear on the scarf of Tião, this guide’s mascot. The ensemble was heritage-listed in 1991 by Inepac, the state heritage institute, according to Wikipedia.

The waves came before Burle Marx

You often read that Roberto Burle Marx designed the Copacabana waves. That is not quite right. Avenida Atlântica was built from 1905, under Mayor Pereira Passos, and opened in 1906. From then on, the promenade alongside it already used the wave pattern known as “mar largo” (wide sea), a tribute to the city’s Portuguese heritage, according to Wikipedia.

The design came from Lisbon. The wave pattern was created in the early 19th century for the Rossio, today’s Praça D. Pedro IV, where it represented the meeting of the Tagus River and the ocean. In Rio, the same waves came to evoke the sea at Copacabana. In Brazil, before Copacabana, Portuguese wave paving had already been used at Largo de São Sebastião in Manaus, opened in 1900.

Burle Marx’s 1970s design

In the early 1970s, Avenida Atlântica was widened. The landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx was invited to modernize the promenade. Two changes marked the project, according to Wikipedia:

• The waves turned: previously perpendicular to the beach, they now run parallel to it.
• New mosaics: the avenue’s central strip got abstract black, white and red mosaics designed by Burle Marx.

Other elements that now seem part of the scenery came later: the lifeguard posts in 1975, the coconut palms on the sand in 1988 and the cycle path in 1992, replacing the beachfront parking, according to Wikipedia.

Portuguese stone

The paving is made of small stones laid by hand, fitted together on a sand base. The black, white and red stones came from Portugal, according to Wikipedia. That is why, when the promenade is repaired, the work is still done by hand.

A walk

The walk from Leme to Posto 6 is completely flat and can be done in any stretch, at your own pace. Along the way are kiosks, exercise equipment, volleyball courts and the Copacabana Palace. At the end, carry on to the Fort or round to Arpoador for the sunset.

The promenade is also Avenida Atlântica’s stage on party days: New Year’s Eve in Copacabana, concerts and sporting events take place there, according to Wikipedia.

Take care

• Keep your phone away when you are not taking photos and carry only what you need.
• At night, stay on the lit, busy part of the promenade, not on the dark strip of sand.
• The cycle path is for bikes: look both ways before crossing.

Getting there

The Cardeal Arcoverde, Siqueira Campos and Cantagalo metro stations are a few blocks from the seafront, according to the MetrôRio network. See the lines in getting around Rio and the beach in Copacabana Beach.