Highly recommend catching the train from Centro to Santa Teresa if you're in RJ. On my last full…read moreday in Rio de Janeiro, my tour guide took me to the station, I bought a ticket for I think it was R$20? They do take reais or card. The line to wait your turn to hop onto a train was long the date and time I was there (around early to mid afternoon), but it moved along quick - so quick that there was a spot open for 1 more person to hop onto the current train that was waiting to take off and I me being a solo traveler, I was able to take that spot! I had a nice seat on the end where I was able to get pretty good views from the side I was sitting on. I felt like I was on a ride at Disneyland, haha. You'll pass by some really great sceneries, well-known buildings, get really close to plants, cars, motorists, and buildings sometimes. Be mindful of staying inside the car and be aware of your phone if you decide to film or take photos. The driver stopped a few times near scenic spots for everyone to enjoy and take fotos from the car before moving on. I went all the way up and then the train switches the driver side (basically the train can be controlled from either end - the conductor changes sides and so does the seating arrangement... the seat benches can switch from the guests sitting forward to forward again so we aren't sitting backwards going back downhill if that makes sense). I feel like I explained that poorly, haha. The ticket takes you for the entire way, but you are able to hop off at any stop. You won't regret riding on one of the most iconic trains in Santa Teresa. Similar to the ones you'd see in Portugal as a lot of the buildings and architecture have Portuguese influence.

The cable lift of Complexo do Alemão was inaugurated in July 2011 and is part of the public…read moretransport in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. You can hop on at the train station in the neighborhood Bonsucesso. Inhabitants of the Favelas that are connected to the cable lift have the right to one round trip a day, owners of the Rio Card pay one real for a single trip and the regular price for a single ticket is 5 reais. To arrive at the train station of Bonsucesso, you can take any train from the Central Station that departs from platform 12 (Direction Saracuruna or Gramacho). A taxi, however, isn't that expensive either (around 30 reais from Central) and just tell the cab driver you want to go to the train station of Bonsucesso (estação do Bonsucesso). When you are inside the train station, you can buy two tickets. One to go to Palmeiras and another one to return to the train station. Although the Teleférico was also bound to be a touristic attraction (because of its amazing view over the biggest complex of Favelas in Rio) not much tourists take the effort to go here. Understandable, because there are relatively a small amount off guides going there and it is pretty difficult to get there on your own if you don't know the city. But with the directions I gave you above, you should manage. The Teleférico has six stations and the last station is Palmeiras, where you have to step out of the cable lift. There you can enjoy a great view of the complex of Favelas. It is not recommended that you explore the Favela on your own, just enjoy the view close to the station. If you are done watching, you can even buy a souvenir at one of the kiosks stationed at the station Palmeiras.