Santa Teresa is Rio's most charismatic neighbourhood — a hillside community of colonial and Art Nouveau mansions above Lapa, connected to the city below by the historic yellow tram (bonde) and by winding roads and steep staircases. Artists and intellectuals have lived here since the 1960s; today it is a mix of studios, boutique hotels, restaurants, and old Carioca families who have been here for generations.
The neighbourhood is best explored on foot: wander the cobbled streets from the Santa Teresa tramway station, stopping at the Parque das Ruínas for a view over Guanabara Bay, or at one of the neighbourhood botecos for a chopp (draught beer) and a pastel. The Selarón Steps at the bottom of the hill connect Santa Teresa to Lapa below. The neighbourhood has a significantly different feel from the beach zones — quieter, more local, more interesting.