Urca and the Mureta da Urca

Urca is a small, residential neighborhood in the South Zone, at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain and Morro da Urca. It has tree-lined streets, old houses and a waterfront facing Guanabara Bay, with moored boats and views of Corcovado. This is where the cable car station is, at Praia Vermelha.

Where Rio was born

The city was founded in Urca. On March 1, 1565, Estácio de Sá set up a fortified settlement on the strip of land between the Cara de Cão and Sugarloaf hills, today’s Praia de Fora, on the grounds of the São João Fort, according to Wikipedia. Today the area is military.

A 1920s neighborhood

Today’s Urca was built on land reclaimed from the bay from the end of World War I, and the first houses date from 1922, according to the English Wikipedia. Most of the houses date from the late 1920s to the late 1940s, in varied styles: Art Deco, neo-colonial and imitations of English houses. That is why the neighborhood is so often used as a set for films and soap operas.

The Urca Casino and Carmen Miranda

The old Urca Casino, opened in 1933, was one of the centers of carioca nightlife until gambling was banned in Brazil in 1946. The building later became the headquarters of TV Tupi, according to Wikipedia. According to the English Wikipedia, Carmen Miranda was discovered by a Hollywood producer during a performance at the casino in 1938, and she lived in a house on Rua São Sebastião, in the neighborhood.

The Mureta da Urca

The waterfront facing Botafogo Cove has a low wall right by the water. The Mureta da Urca (Urca’s little wall), as it is known, has become a meeting point for the late afternoon: people sit there to watch the sun set behind Corcovado, with the boats on the water and the city across the cove.

Take care

• The bay at the wall is not a place to swim: stay on the wall and watch out for the rocks.
• Urca is a residential neighborhood: respect the residents and keep the noise down at night.
• Carry only what you need and, at night, arrange your return by taxi or ride-hailing app.

Getting there and what to combine

Urca is served by buses from Botafogo and Copacabana. Combine it with the Sugarloaf cable car, the Pista Cláudio Coutinho walk and the waterfront of Flamengo Park. See other late-afternoon spots in Rio viewpoints.