Shopping Malls

Rio de Janeiro has quite a few large shopping malls. Most keep hours from 10am to 10pm, 12/7. Some open on Sunday as well (from 3pm to 10pm typically). The most centrally located mall is Rio Sul in Botafogo.

For name-brand stores at discounted prices, don't miss Rio-Off Price also located in Botafogo closer to Rio Sul.

The Botafogo Praia Shopping is also quite popular. For the most upscale boutiques, visit the small Sao Conrado Fashion Mall.

Barra da Tijuca is the kingdom of shopping malls. The largest is Barra Shopping, which has 577 stores, 42 quality restaurants and five movie screens. Barra Shopping is the biggest shopping mall of South America. Barra is well known for American influences in its style of life, and is commonly seem like Miami Beach.

A stylish alternative is Rio Design Center where you can find elegant home furnishings and beautiful decorative pieces.

Iguatemi Shopping - One of the more elegant malls in town, Iguatemi houses many exclusive brand names such as Bally, Tiffany's, and Louis Vuitton. On the top floor of the mall are a movie theater and a number of food courts and full-service restaurants. The building is fully wheelchair-accessible.

Shopping Downtown - How about shopping as if you were in a tourist town, with an open air area and trees on the sidewalk? Or drink a cold beer feeling the breeze of the evening touching your face after a big and hard day of work? In Downtown, your life is like this: established brands, exciting restaurants, wellness and fun together not only for convenience, but also and mainly, to offer you a unique experience and moment.

Rio de Janeiro has much in the way of shopping malls from colorful markets straigh out of the North-Est to chic South Zone boutiques. Some of the major strips in the city for window shopping and browsing include the following:

At Leblon - Boutiques selling haute cuture sprinkled among cafés, bookshops and restaurants.
At Lapa - Rows of antique stores, mixed with hypermodern furniture shop, along with a few coffee shops and nice bars - sometimes inside the stores.
At Ipanema - Vibrant shopping strip has many boutiques, shoppings centers and scores of dining and coffee-sipping options.
At Downtown - One of the main street coursing through the Middle-Eastern bazzar like Sahara, with clothing and curio shops spilling onto the streets.
At Copacabana - Packed during the week, this strip is lined with shops selling everything from "chocolats to soccer balls". There are plenty of street sellers hawking their wares along the sidewalks.

Favela Hype - is a gallery, thrift shop and café all rolled up into one. Browse through fashions from the '50s and '70s or take a peek at some of the vanguard fashions of local designers. Kitch furnishing abound, and the gallery in the back hosts ongoing art exhibitions. The café severs tasty sandwiches and Caipirinhas.