Centro is the commercial and historic centre of Rio, and, though the elegance of its colonial and Neoclassical architecture has become overshadowed by the towering office buildings, it has by no means yet been swamped.

It's an effective grid, cut by two main arteries at right angles to each other, Avenida Presidente Vargas and Avenida Rio Branco . Presidente Vargas runs west from the waterfront and the Candelária church to Dom Pedro II train station and on to the Sambódromo , where the Carnaval procession takes place. Rio Branco crosses it in front of the Candelária church, running from Praça Mauá in the dockland area, south through Praça Mahatma Gandhi to the Avenida Beira Mar .

On the west side of Avenida Rio Branco is Largo da Carioca , which provides access to the hilly suburb of Santa Teresa , whose leafy streets wind their way upwards and westwards towards the Corcovado.

 At the foot of the slope on which Santa Teresa is built lies Lapa , just south of Centro, an inner-city residential and red-light district, its past grandeur reflected in the faded elegance of the Passeio Público park.

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