Free things to do in Rio de Janeiro on a rainy day

Official sources checked Oct 5, 2026

Everything here is under a roof and costs nothing. Check the free day on each card: some of these museums are free only at certain hours.

Always free in Rio de Janeiro9

Open to everyone, every day they are open. No ticket to buy.

FREE

Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB)

Centro

Always freeBooking recommendedIndoorGood with kidsArtArchitectureHistory

A 1906 bank headquarters turned arts center, with a marble rotunda under a glass dome and the big touring exhibitions that come to Rio. Every exhibition is free.

Stand under the rotunda dome on the ground floor
The bank's own museum and old vault rooms upstairs
Open until 20:00, useful after other museums close

Free when: Always · Wednesday to Monday 9:00 to 20:00. Closed Tuesday
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Pick up a free ticket at the box office when you arrive, or reserve at bb.com.br/cultura. New dates are released on Mondays
Time needed: 1.5 to 2 hours
How to get there: Metro to Uruguaiana, then 8 minutes on foot. VLT to Candelária. Rua Primeiro de Março 66

Worth it? Yes.The best rainy-day plan in the city, and air-conditioned. Blockbuster shows can fill up on weekends, so book ahead for those and walk in on weekdays.

Source: Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

FREE

Real Gabinete Português de Leitura

Centro

Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArchitectureHistory

A Portuguese library opened in 1887, with three tiers of carved wooden shelves rising to an iron and stained-glass skylight. It holds the largest collection of Portuguese books outside Portugal.

Three storeys of dark wood shelving around one reading room
Iron chandelier under the stained-glass skylight
Manueline limestone facade shipped from Lisbon

Free when: Always · weekdays 10:00 to 17:00
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Not needed
Time needed: 30 minutes
How to get there: Metro to Carioca or Uruguaiana, then 6 minutes on foot. VLT to Tiradentes. Rua Luís de Camões 30

Worth it? Yes.Ten minutes of looking up is enough, and it is the most beautiful room in Rio. Visitors stay behind a rope in the reading room, so come early before the tour groups line the rail.

Source: Real Gabinete Português de Leitura · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

FREE

Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM Rio)

Parque do Flamengo

Always freeBooking recommendedIndoorGood with kidsArtArchitecture

Affonso Reidy's concrete modernist building on stilts in Flamengo Park, with Burle Marx gardens outside and rotating shows of Brazilian modern and contemporary art inside. Entry is free.

The exposed concrete ribs holding the whole building off the ground
Burle Marx's wave lawn and stone garden outside
View of Sugarloaf from the terrace side

Free when: Always · Wednesday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00, Sunday 11:00 to 18:00 (10:00 to 11:00 on Sunday is reserved for neurodivergent visitors). Last entry 17:30. Closed Sunday 25 October 2026 for the election
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Free ticket from the museum's website or at the desk
Time needed: 1 to 1.5 hours
How to get there: Metro to Cinelândia, then 12 minutes on foot over the footbridge into Flamengo Park. Avenida Infante Dom Henrique 85

Worth it? Yes.Go for the building and the bay-side gardens as much as for the art. The Cinemateca next door often screens films free as well, so check its program for the same day.

Source: MAM Rio · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

FREE

Museu da República and Catete Palace gardens

Catete

Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArchitectureNature

The palace that was Brazil's presidential seat until 1960, where Getúlio Vargas shot himself in 1954. Behind it is a walled garden with ponds, palms and a playground, used by the whole neighborhood.

Vargas's bedroom, kept as it was in 1954
Painted ceilings of the state rooms on the second floor
Garden pond and bandstand behind the palace

Free when: Always · gardens daily 8:00 to 18:00. Museum Wednesday to Sunday 11:00 to 17:00
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Not needed
Time needed: 1.5 hours
How to get there: Metro to Catete. The station exit is at the palace gate, Rua do Catete 153

Worth it? Yes.A free federal museum that tourists overlook. See Vargas's bedroom on the third floor, then sit in the garden with the locals.

Source: Ibram (Instituto Brasileiro de Museus) · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

FREE

Paço Imperial

Centro (Praça XV)

Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArtArchitecture

The 18th-century palace of the Portuguese governors and then of the emperors, where Princess Isabel signed the abolition of slavery in 1888. Today it is a free exhibition center run by the national heritage institute.

Inner courtyards with thick whitewashed colonial walls
Opens at noon, so plan it after lunch
Arco do Teles lane opposite, across Praça XV

Free when: Always · Tuesday to Sunday 12:00 to 18:00
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Not needed
Time needed: 45 minutes to 1 hour
How to get there: VLT to Praça XV, at the door. Metro to Carioca, then 10 minutes on foot. Praça Quinze de Novembro 48

Worth it? Yes.Shows change and vary in quality, but the stone courtyards are cool and quiet on a hot afternoon. Combine it with CCBB, 5 minutes away.

Source: Paço Imperial · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

FREE

Museu Chácara do Céu

Santa Teresa

Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArtViewsArchitecture

The hilltop modernist house of collector Raymundo Castro Maya, with his art, furniture and Debret's watercolors of 19th-century Rio. The garden looks over the city center and the bay.

Garden terrace view over the Centro towers and the bay
Castro Maya's library and dining room, still furnished
Closed Sundays, which catches many visitors out

Free when: Always · 10:00 to 16:30, closed Tuesdays, Sundays and public holidays. Closed for Carnival, Christmas and New Year
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Not needed
Time needed: 1 hour
How to get there: Santa Teresa tram from Carioca to Curvelo stop, then 5 minutes on foot. Or a taxi up; Rua Murtinho Nobre 93

Worth it? Yes.A small federal museum that is now free every open day. Do it together with Parque Glória Maria next door, and ride up, do not walk the hillside streets alone.

Source: Ibram (Museus Castro Maya) · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

FREE

Museu Histórico Nacional

Centro

Always freeIndoorGood with kidsHistoryArchitecture

Brazil's national history museum, in a complex of colonial fort, arsenal and prison buildings near Praça XV. Imperial carriages, cannons in the courtyard and a huge coin collection.

Pátio dos Canhões, a courtyard lined with old cannons
Imperial carriages in the ground-floor gallery
Ask at the entrance which rooms are open that day

Free when: Always · partially open, Wednesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:00
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Not needed
Time needed: 1 to 1.5 hours
How to get there: VLT to Praça XV, then 8 minutes on foot. Praça Marechal Âncora

Worth it? Depends.Free, but only part of it is open while galleries are being redone, so treat it as an hour's stop and not the main event. The cannon courtyard alone repays the walk.

Source: Ibram (Instituto Brasileiro de Museus) · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

Museu do Pontal

Barra da Tijuca

Always freePay what you wishIndoorGood with kidsArtLocal life

Brazil's main museum of popular art: thousands of small clay and wood figures of markets, festivals, circuses and working life, made by artists from all over the country.

Mechanical scenes that move when you press a button
Carnival parade built in miniature clay figures
Garden and cafe behind the galleries

Free when: Always · Thursday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:30. Entry is free, with a suggested contribution of R$ 20 for those who can
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Not needed
Time needed: 1.5 hours
How to get there: Metro Line 4 to Jardim Oceânico, then a taxi or app car of about 20 minutes. Avenida Célia Ribeiro da Silva Mendes, beside the Alphaville condominium

Worth it? Depends.Charming and unlike any other museum in Rio, but far from everything. Go if you are already staying in Barra or have a car. From the South Zone the ride costs more than most museum tickets.

Source: Museu do Pontal · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

FREE

Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião

Centro

Always freeIndoorGood with kidsArchitecture

A 1970s concrete cone, 75 meters high, with four stained-glass windows running from floor to roof. Nothing like the baroque churches a few streets away.

Four colored glass strips, each 64 meters tall
Stand at the center and look straight up
Midday sun lights the east windows best

Free when: Always · daily 7:00 to 17:00. Mass at 12:00 on weekdays and 10:00 on Sundays
Free for whom: Everyone
Reservation: Not needed
Time needed: 20 to 30 minutes
How to get there: Metro to Carioca, then 5 minutes on foot. Avenida Chile 245

Worth it? Depends.Ugly outside, impressive inside for about ten minutes. Worth it only because it sits between the Lapa Arches and Carioca station, so you pass it anyway.

Source: Catedral Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

Free on certain days, or for certain people1

Mostly museums. The free window, who it applies to and the booking rule are on each card.

~~R$ 20~~FREE

Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR)

Praça Mauá

Free on certain daysIndoorGood with kidsArtHistoryViews

Two joined buildings on Praça Mauá, an old palace and a former bus terminal under one wavy roof, showing art about Rio and Brazil. The rooftop looks over the square and the bay.

Rooftop terrace over Praça Mauá and Guanabara Bay
Take the lift up and walk down through the galleries
Card only at the desk on paid days, no cash

Free when: Every Tuesday, free for everyone · 11:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:00. Ticket desk 10:30 to 17:00. Closed Wednesday
Free for whom: Everyone on Tuesday. Free every open day for over-60s, children up to 5 and tour guides, with ID
Reservation: No booking. Collect the ticket at the desk, or online
Time needed: 1.5 hours
How to get there: VLT to Parada dos Museus, at the door. Metro to Uruguaiana, then 15 minutes on foot

Worth it? Yes.Start on the roof and work down. On a normal day it is only R$ 20, so if Tuesday does not fit, pay rather than skip it.

Source: Museu de Arte do Rio · checked Oct 5, 2026Open in Maps

PAID · ONE PER CITY

If you spend on one thing in Rio de Janeiro, make it this.

Sugarloaf cable car at sunset

Tickets start at R$ 205, and it is the one view in Rio that no trail or terrace replaces: the whole bay, Copacabana and Corcovado from 396 meters as the lights come on. Go up around 16:00 and stay for dusk. If the budget is tight, hike Morro da Urca for free and decide at the top.

Everything above is free. This is the only paid pick on the page, chosen because no free option replaces it.

See tickets and prices