Escadaria Selarón
塞勒隆阶梯 · Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A wandering Chilean artist spent half a lifetime turning 215 steps into a colourful totem offered to Brazil
Know before you go
- Don't venture into the surrounding lanes alone at night, and don't wear conspicuous jewellery or luxury watches
- don't climb the low tiled walls at the sides of the steps or step on the fragile edges of the tiling
- no drone filming — the area adjoins housing and is regularly patrolled by police
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Stories & people
Stories & people
History
Stories of Escadaria Selarón
The story of these steps is a foreigner's unrequited love for Brazil. The Chilean painter Jorge Selarón came to Rio in 1983 and lived in a small house beside the steps. In 1990 the 215 dilapidated steps outside his door had long been in disrepair, so he began renovating them out of his own pocket: first covering the step risers with tiles in the green, yellow, blue and white of the Brazilian flag. The money quickly ran out, so he sold paintings to buy tiles, and received tiles sent by travellers from around the world — in the end more than 2,000 tiles came from over 60 countries, not a few of them painted by hand himself: one recurring image of a pregnant African woman runs the length of the staircase, which he called "a private mystery I will never solve". He said the work "would never be finished", and he kept swapping and re-laying tiles until his death in 2013. "This is my gift to the Brazilian people," he said, "and as long as I live, it will keep growing." In January 2013 Selarón was found dead on the very staircase he had created; the cause of death remains debated to this day — and the people of Rio came of their own accord to lay flowers on the steps, treating the place as his monument.
Source: Visit Rio: Selarón Steps; Wikipedia: Escadaria Selarón
History
History of Escadaria Selarón
The staircase's original name is the Escadaria Manuel Carneiro, built at the end of the 19th century to connect the Lapa district with the Santa Teresa hill — a municipal stairway for residents' daily passage. Selarón began the tile transformation in 1990, at first laughed at by neighbours as a madman's folly, until media coverage and backpacker word of mouth gradually made it a landmark: music videos by Snoop Dogg, footage by U2 and numerous World Cup promos were shot here, and during the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics it became one of Rio's most recognisable images. The Rio city government listed the staircase as municipal historical and cultural heritage in 2005 and took responsibility for basic maintenance, and the name "Escadaria Selarón" passed from popular usage into the official designation. The staircase has 215 steps and is about 125 m long, faced mainly in red, yellow, green and blue tiles.
Source: Visit Rio: Selarón Steps; Wikipedia: Escadaria Selarón
Culture
Culture & customs
Background
The Selarón Steps are an epitome of the Latin American street-art spirit: no project approval, no sponsor, no completion date — an immigrant artist turned public space into a personal epic through twenty-odd years of daily labour, and then gave it entirely to the city. It also maps Rio's urban character: Lapa is the old home of samba and bohemian nightlife, Santa Teresa the artists' hilltop old quarter, and the staircase is exactly the seam between the two worlds.
Local customs
Travellers have an unwritten ritual: find the tile from your own country among the 2,000-plus tiles and pose with it — distinctive tiles from China, Japan, Germany and other countries can all be found. Locals treat the steps as a daily thoroughfare and meeting point, and street performers often play samba and bossa nova midway up the steps at weekends.
Religion & beliefs
No specific religious affiliation. A few tiles show Catholic and Afro-Brazilian religious imagery (such as Candomblé), all part of the art collage and of Rio's plural everyday faith.
Etiquette & taboos
Etiquette & taboos
Don’t DON'T
- Don't venture into the surrounding lanes alone at night, and don't wear conspicuous jewellery or luxury watches
- don't climb the low tiled walls at the sides of the steps or step on the fragile edges of the tiling
- no drone filming — the area adjoins housing and is regularly patrolled by police
Locals appreciate DO
- Go in the daytime in company, and put your phone away promptly after photographing
- when looking for your country's tile, don't block the stairway passage for long
- be courteous to residents still using the steps and to performers, and you may give street artists a little small change
Plan your visit
Practical info
Travel tips
- The steps stand where the Lapa and Santa Teresa districts meet, an open street area free all day, but the surrounding security situation is complicated — go in company by day and don't display valuables
- The tiles are slippery and the steps crowded
- wear non-slip shoes, and when photographing keep to the side to leave residents a way through
- The Arcos da Lapa aqueduct (Lapa Arches) is about a 5-minute walk from the steps and can be combined with the Lapa nightlife district
- The address is on Rua Joaquim Silva in Lapa, near the Lapa Arches
- about a 10-minute walk from Cinelândia Metro station. Open all day, free. Allow 30–45 minutes
- between 9 and 11 a.m. there are relatively fewer people and the light is favourable
- it combines well into a half-day with the Santa Teresa tram, the Lapa Arches and the Selarón Steps. The tiles are extremely slippery on rainy days — better to reschedule. For security in the surroundings, follow Brazil's official travel advisories and avoid moving alone at night.
Eat nearby
What to eat nearby
Must-try
- ['Brazilian barbecue
['Brazilian barbecue (churrasco): skewers of meat carved in rotation until you can eat no more — Rio's national-level group meal', 'Feijoada black bean and meat stew with rice: Brazil's national dish, traditionally served on Saturdays, with orange and farofa (toasted cassava flour)', 'Açaí smoothie bowls: Amazonian purple-berry sorbet with banana and granola, found on every street corner', 'Pão de queijo cheese bread balls: hollow, crisp balls made from cassava flour, the coffee stall standard']
| Where to eat | Lapa is Rio's centre of nightlife and working-class food, with bars and restaurants strung along both sides of Avenida Mem de Sá; the Santa Teresa hill has small, lovely local restaurants and cafés, good for lunch; for authentic feijoada, go to a traditional old establishment in the old town — Saturday noon is the most authentic. |
|---|---|
| Dining etiquette | Brazilian barbecue houses use the "rodízio" rotating service: a two-sided card on the table, green side up to keep the meat coming, red side to pause; restaurant bills usually include a 10% service charge, so no extra tip is needed; Brazilians eat at a slow pace, and hurrying the food is considered impolite. |
| Typical price per person | 60–120 Brazilian reais per person, about RMB 80–160 (typical rates); all-you-can-eat barbecue counts as mid-to-high spending in Rio. |
| Tips | feijoada portions are huge and rich — one portion plus side dishes split between two is enough; the street juice bars (casas de sucos) squeeze fresh juice cheaply — the best refuelling while exploring Lapa. |
Prices are typical rates as of October 2026, not exact quotes; CNY equivalents are approximate where exchange rates fluctuate.
Photos
Photos
Donatas Dabravolskas · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wilfredor · CC0
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