Hotels near Feira de Sao Cristovao

The Centro Luiz Gonzaga de Tradicoes Nordestinas, which everyone in Rio calls the Feira de Sao Cristovao, is northeastern Brazil packed into a pavilion the architect Sergio Bernardes completed in 1962. The design took first prize for architecture and structure at the 1958 Brussels International Exposition and was then among the largest beam-free covered spans built anywhere. Inside are hundreds of stalls selling carne de sol, tapioca, cachaca and leather vaqueiro hats, and two main stages that play forro - accordion, triangle, zabumba - and almost never samba.

That last detail is why it belongs on a Carnival list. The fair keeps ordinary hours right through the week: Tuesday to Thursday 10:00 to 18:00, Friday and Saturday 10:00 to 04:00, Sunday 10:00 to 20:00. Entry is R$10 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, around EUR 1.60, paid in cash at the box office or ahead through the fair's own ticketing site. While Centro is sealed off for blocos, this is a roof, a chair, a plate of food and a live band for pocket change, and the crowd is families from Pernambuco and Ceara who live in Rio rather than visitors working through a list.

The trade-off is distance and heat. The pavilion sits roughly 5 km north of Praca XV, outside every bloco circuit, so you commit an evening rather than dropping in between things. February under that roof is punishing before sunset, and on Carnival Saturday the road closures downtown make driving north slower than the metro.

Pro Tip: Come on the Friday of Carnival week and arrive at 22:00 rather than at opening. The two main stages only hit their stride after midnight and the pavilion runs until 04:00. Bring R$10 in small notes because the gate takes cash, and ride MetroRio Line 2 back from Sao Cristovao station instead of waiting for a car on Campo de Sao Cristovao.