Bicycles
On a car-free island.
Wanderson S. Dantas — CC BY 3.0 · Wanderson S. Dantas — CC BY 3.0 · VinyNeto — CC BY-SA 3.0 · TMbux — CC BY-SA 3.0
Paquetá is a small island in Guanabara Bay, about an hour by ferry from Praça XV; its name is Tupi for 'many pacas', a large rodent. The island is car-free, so people get around by bicycle and on foot, and it has twenty African baobab trees. The Tamoio people lived and hunted here before Europeans arrived; the Frenchman André Thevet recorded it in December 1555, and it was a centre of French resistance to the Portuguese until they won and split it between settlers. The divide between its Campo and Ponte halves still shows in its festivities and football matches. Ferries from Praça XV take about 50 minutes by catamaran or 70 by traditional ferry, for a fare of a few reais; the timetable changed on 19 January 2026, so check before you go.
On a car-free island.
Twenty African trees.
Across the bay.
Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro
By ferry from Praça XV in central Rio, about 50-70 minutes, for a fare of a few reais.