The Santa Teresa district is a tangle of cobblestone streets and crumbling landmarks perched above the city. It’s undergoing a renaissance thanks to anchors such as the restored Hotel Santa Teresa and the working-class eatery Bar do Mineiro. The latter lures diners with its feijoada (bean and mixed meat stew).

Rio has never been busier. The city is building up and out for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Part of a massive port facelift, the Museum of Art of Rio opens later this year. But in colonial bairros, such as Santa Teresa, fresh paint hasn’t changed the carioca spirit. This appeared in the September, 2012 issue.

Beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema are justifiably famous, but city insiders head southwest to Prainha for some of the area’s best surf and views. Join locals at Restaurante Bira for fish stewed in coconut milk or for an after-surf caipirinha while watching the waves. 55/(0) 21-2410-8304. This appeared in the September, 2012 issue.

While in Rio you must go to Sugarloaf Mountain. It has beautiful views of the entire city. I went on a day that was misty and cloudy and was a little disappointed that I couldn't see the Christ the Redeemer statue from the mountain, but soon the wind started to blow and the clouds started to move and the statue stood among the clouds. It was beautiful and I ended up being happy it wasn't a crystal clear day.

Leaving Rio de Janeiro without knowing the Arpoador beach is almost a sin. Between Copacabana and Ipanema, this beach is mostly known for being one of the best surfing spots in Rio de Janeiro. It was also here that I saw how elders look so young. Short, tall, think, fat, white, black, they all have that healthy and good life look. Is it a Cristo Redentor age miracle? The rocks at Arpoador have trails that are great for walking and to see sunrise and the best sunset in the city. People used to clap during sunset. It’s wonderful. Go to Rio de Janeiro and lived this powerful nature show.

A new addition to the hopping Leblon neighborhood, Brigite’s is perfect for a low-key bite. Parquet floors and an open kitchen complement dishes that range from namorado whitefish with flaxseed farofa (a mix of flour and yuca) to steak tartare with plantain fritters. 55/(0) 21-2274-5590. This appeared in the September, 2012 issue.

Ipanema’s iconic Fasano hotel, conceived by renowned designer Philippe Starck, features wooden armchairs by local architect Sergio Rodrigues and rooftop views of the city’s mountains. Expect three Fasano outposts to open elsewhere in Brazil before the World Cup. From $770. 55/(0) 21-3202-4000. This appeared in the September, 2012 issue.

Absolutely every type of person in Rio comes here, where city meets ocean. On Sundays, a section of road is closed to traffic and you see people walking, jogging, and rollerblading along the promenade, and playing volleyball on the beach. Most travelers frequent the Copacabana side, where you will find the beautiful black-and-gray mosaic promenade designed by Roberto Burle Marx. I like to run along the other side of the peninsula, between the Leblon and Arpoador neighborhoods. —Zahira Asmal Photo by Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy. This appeared in the March/April 2013 issue. Read more about Designing South Africa and Designing Brazil founder Zahira Asmal.

Name: Batman Zavareze Age: 39 Neighborhood: Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Occupation: Marcelo Felipe Zavareze Marques, known as Batman for his childhood penchant for wearing superhero T-shirts, is the curator-director of Multiplicidade Imagem Som Inusitados. The monthly multimedia art festival takes place at the Oi Futuro Flamengo cultural center and other venues in Rio de Janeiro from June through December. Lots of creative people—designers, actors, filmmakers, musicians—live and work in Jardim Botânico, perhaps because there is so much beauty and a tradition of art here. As the name suggests, this is a very green place. Rio itself is a mix of mountains, waterfalls, beaches, and city, and my neighborhood claims two of Brazil’s biggest urban parks, Parque Lage and Jardim Botânico. They give the neighborhood a very calm vibe. I usually walk or bike from my house to my office, passing residents jogging and cycling along the path around the lagoon, Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. I go through Parque Lage, which houses the 18th-century Escola de Artes Visuais building. The school is a great place to take a class on painting or philosophy and to get inspiration—though I don’t need to go far for inspiration. In 15 minutes, I can bike from my house or office to the beach or the mountains or the inner city. The idea behind Multiplicidade—which means multiplicity—was to introduce people to new and innovative performances that unite visual art and experimental music on the same stage. (See video from Batman’s Multiplicidade festival.) Now the festival attracts painters, photographers, designers, and other visual artists as well as musicians, filmmakers, DJs, and emerging technology artists from all over the world. Each creates works for the shows. For our most recent festival, renowned Spanish filmmaker Carlos Casas presented the documentary trilogy “End,” filmed in Uzbekistan, Patagonia, and the Aral Sea in Siberia; we projected the film onto three walls inside of a warehouse. We have a rule at Multiplicidade that nothing can be shown on a white screen, so for another project, a musician played while we projected a film into a pool that we had built and then filled with packaging peanuts. It was gorgeous. And every idea begins in our little studio—our “laboratory”—in the Jardim Botânico neighborhood. For Multiplicidade we have worked with more than 160 internationally recognized performers and artists—Carlinhos Brown, Vik Muniz—who have encouraged others to get into multimedia performance. Now fans follow the scene here. They’ve helped to make Jardim Botânico an artistic hub. You’re always running into creative people. Walk down Rua Maria Angélica and you will meet someone interesting. Grab a coffee and you’ll make a new friend. In Jardim Botânico, chance can still happen. As told to Heidi Mitchell. Photo by Gabriel Rinaldi. This appeared in the March/April 2012 issue.  See all of Batman Zavarese’s favorite places in Jardim Botanico:Jojo Cafe BistroFarmers’ Market at Rua Frei LeandroBrazEscola de Artes VisuaisParque LageLivraria Ponte de Tabuas Adega do PortoFernando Jaeger FurniturePolo de Pensamento Contemporaneo (POP)

Corcovado. Check. Sugarloaf. Been there. Ipanema. Yeah, I saw that girl on the beach too. Botanical Garden. Now that’s a new one. Located at the base of Corcovado Mountain, and under the right arm of Christ the Redeemer, you will discover the 140-hectare gem that is the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro. I stumbled upon this not-so-hidden treasure while tooling around the city on a bike that seemed like it was from 1822, the same year the garden was opened to the public. Once inside the perimeter, you will step into a world that is populated with over 6500 species of foreign and domestic plants, and an assortment of tropical birds, fish and mammals that will kindly greet you (or scurry away) along your journey. If I saw a dinosaur here I would surely think that I had discovered the Lost World. The photo above is of Barbosa Rodrigues’ Alley, one of the most well-known avenues within the park. It runs for about 700 meters, and has about 137 royal palms, all of which are descended from a single tree that was destroyed by lightning in 1972. The sheer magnitude of the garden, along with all the thriving life that resides within it, surely gave me pause to ponder for a bit: If God rested on the seventh day, perhaps it was because the other six were spent creating something as wonderful as this. www.jbrj.gov.br

Climbing up the steps to the iconic statue of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) on Corcovado mountain, you can view all of Rio de Janeiro and you get a sense of how marvelous this city really is.

Instituto Moreira Salles, founded by the late Walther Moreira Salles, a banker and diplomat, houses thousands of historic photographs, books, paintings, and recordings. The auditorium hosts film screenings—a nod to his son, Walter Salles, who directed The Motorcycle Diaries. 55/(0) 21-3284-7400. This appeared in the September, 2012 issue.

That morning I had climbed up the mountain called Pedra Bonita (Little Rock) where hang gliders jump off the edge of a cliff to a 1600 ft drop over Tijuca National Park. The tandem flights require you to literally run and leap off a wooden platform into the abyss. Standing on the edge of the wooden ramp, I surveyed the stunning expanse of ocean and the city below. I was in Rio, staring at the most amazing view and shaking in my socks. After much much deliberation I took the plunge. My knuckles were white but as I left the ground my face broke out in a spontaneous smile. I was weightless. The crisp wind hit my forehead and bit my lips. On my way down, I looked down on the lush canopy of Tijuca park, Sugar loaf Mountain in the far distance, the cloud enveloped statue of Christ the Redeemer and hovered over the Atlantic Ocean before landing on a small strip of soft sand called Pepino Beach. 1600 ft in 7 minutes. 7 minutes that felt like 70. 7 minutes that I will remember for a while.

The Bohemian hilltop neighborhood of Santa Teresa is the perfect remedy for the Rio de Janeiro visitor that needs a break from the sun and fun of the sunny and crowded beaches. One of the many colonial gems of Santa Teresa is the Castelinho, or Little Castle, which was built in 1866. Today the castle serves as a hotel, but it really just adds to the old world magic of Santa Teresa. The little neighborhood is home to many fine restaurants and shops specializing in authentic Carioca foods and arts. Take the famed Yellow Trolley from Rio's city center across the Arcos de Lapa and up the hill to complete the experience.

One of the best things I ate while in Rio was Pao de Queijo (cheese bread). It is basically a baked ball of dough and cheese that melts in your mouth. Almost every cafe in Rio sells these...usually they give you a little bag filled with them so you can take them to go. I was wandering through the streets in Santa Teresa and saw that these had just come out of the oven so stopped to have some with a few friends. The cafe was on the main street close to the bus station but I didn't actually see a sign with the name (sorry). Be careful you can't have just one...we ended up ordering another bowl!

During my week long trip to Rio de Janeiro I decided I needed a break from the beach. A friend from Sao Paulo recommended the Botanical Gardens so I gave it a shot. The gardens are quite elaborate and amazing. They were founded in 1808 by the King of Portugal and it is still known as one of the most diverse and largest tropical botanical gardens in the world. Some highlights include the Fountain of the Muses, the Amazonian Lily Pads and the Bromeliad House.

In Rio, a rocky promontory divides the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. At the end is a large flat rock that was once a place where fishermen harpooned the whales that came to reproduce in the warm waters. Hence the Portuguese name Arpoador, meaning "fisherman who uses harpoon." Today it's a place to sit, watch the surf and surfers, witness the sunset over Ipanema - and enjoy being alive. Free of charge!