Feira do Rio Antigo
Every first Saturday of the month there is a street market called Feira do Rio Antigo in Lapa. The street itself is lined with second hand furniture shops and then the pavement/sidewalk is crammed with stalls selling all kinds of bric-a-brac, from antique dinner plates and cutlery to clothes and other bits and bobs. Mix in some bars with chairs and tables sprawling across the street and you have the makings a of lively afternoon/evening.
Browse the shops and stalls, enjoy a few drinks, soak up the atmosphere.
Later on you could head to everyone’s favourite nightspot, Rio Scenarium, which is on the same street. I would say “See you there next weekend”, but I’ll be in Peru…
The Lapa feira has lost some of its appeal for me over the past few years. it has become more commercialized, and now with hotels on that street it is more of a tourist attraction than the old “thieves market” it once was. But, there is another feira beneath the viaduct in front of the ferry terminal which has more of the old second hand merchandise, if that is what you are looking for. Old LP’s, antiques, treasures of questionable origin, the kid of feira that Lapa used to have. Wandering through the furniture shops along Lavradio is still a great way to spend a Saturday, but for those seeking that elusive doorknob or collectable I recommend checking out the feira in front of the ferry terminal.
Ooh, nice one PT! I love markets and I don’t know that one :) Do you know when it runs?
It’s kind of sad how the places that used to be edgy and dangerous end up changing and becoming touristy. Mrs Eat Rio still talks about what Lapa used to be like when she first started going out drinking there in her younger years. But I guess this kind of thing happens all the time (and all over the world – I remember people saying the same thing about the East end of London where I used to live).
Indeed, Lapa was certainly edgy not so many years ago. Can’t say i really miss that though, the area is so full of great architecture falling down, it needed the attention and money tourists bring.
I believe the feira in front of the ferries runs every weekend, either that or I just happen to have hit the right days each time I took the ferry on a Saturday. It runs rain or shine since it is protected by the viaduct overhead.
If there is a market catering to stolen goods then it is the end of a chain which often starts with someone putting a gun to another person´s head. I say screw the so called edginess of these places: they should be closed down and the feirantes charged with larceny.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handling_stolen_goods
I have a lawyer friend here in Rio who represented a client accused of selling stolen goods at the old Lapa feira, which is how I became aware of the fact stolen items have been known to surface at these fairs. This guy was selling stuff like doorknobs and household hardware which had allegedly been stolen from abandoned homes in Cosme Velho. I agree, selling stolen goods should result in arrest and prosecution but unfortunately that is often a very difficult thing to prove. I certainly would not knowingly buy anything stolen, but if my home was robbed I would definitely check out the various “antiques” fairs and shops to try to recover anything stolen.
This reminds me of a great sunday market in San Telmo, a really bohemian barrio of Buenos Aires. It’s only 3 hours from Rio!
Ah, I loved San Telmo – especially the market(s). It was the first stop on my 1 year Latin American trip and I could not believe how much cool stuff there was in the shops and markets there. I must go back one day…