Cafeography
Rio de Janeiro · Ipanema & Arpoador

Cafés in Ipanema & Arpoador

Cafés along Rua Visconde de Pirajá, Rua Vinícius de Moraes and Farme de Amoedo, and sunset on the Arpoador rock.

Photo: Rcastro creative, Pexels License

Ipanema lies between Leblon and Arpoador. Its first urban settlement was laid out in 1883 by José Antônio Moreira Filho, 2nd Baron of Ipanema, whose title it took; the name, of Tupi origin, is usually translated as “bad water”.1

The bossa nova song “The Girl from Ipanema”, written in 1962 by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes, made the beach famous abroad, and the neighborhood remains one of the most expensive in the city to live in.1 Most of its cafés are on Rua Visconde de Pirajá, with a handful on the cross streets toward the sand.

Local tip: On a summer evening, have a coffee on Rua Visconde de Pirajá, then walk to the Arpoador rock for sunset; Emporio Jardim la Praia on Rua Maria Quitéria closes at 18:00.

At a glance

16Cafés listed
1With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
18:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Emporio Jardim la Praia, from 08:00 (Daily 08:00–18:00).
  • Most common features: brunch (6%), bakery café (6%).

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Coffee chains in Ipanema & Arpoador

Getting to Ipanema

Ipanema has two metro stations, General Osório and Nossa Senhora da Paz, on the combined Lines 1 and 4 that run from Tijuca through Centro and Copacabana to Barra da Tijuca.2 On Sundays the road nearest the beach closes to traffic.1

Rua Visconde de Pirajá

Aussie Coffee is at number 98, Baked, a bakery with a café, at 187, and Do Brasil Café e Bistrô at 207. Number 444 holds Le P’tit Cafe and Louzieh Doces Finos, a sweet shop. Limas Café is at 547, AS Cafe and Zazá Bistrô Café share 572, Café Mais Bistrô is at 595 and Ipanema Cafe at 605.

The street also has Bar Vinte, at the spot where the tram used to turn, and with Rua Garcia d’Ávila it holds most of Ipanema’s luxury shops.3 Vinícius de Moraes wrote the song at the bar now called Garota de Ipanema.3 Praça Nossa Senhora da Paz, by the station of the same name, has a fruit and vegetable market of its own.3

Toward the beach

Rua Vinícius de Moraes has The Coffee Store at number 120 and Nusa Café at 129. Florir Café Bistrô is at Rua Farme de Amoedo, 95, Café com fé at Rua Garcia d’Ávila, 83, and Gringo Cafe at Rua Barão da Torre, 240. Emporio Jardim la Praia, at Rua Maria Quitéria, 62, serves brunch every day 08:00–18:00.

The beach is divided by numbered postos (lifeguard posts). Posto 9 became a meeting place for the counterculture and the LGBTQ community after the politician Fernando Gabeira was photographed there in 1979.1

Feira Hippie and Arpoador

The Feira Hippie, a Sunday market started by hippies in 1968, still runs with more than 700 stalls, and the Banda de Ipanema parades here at Carnival.1 It fills Praça General Osório, formerly Praça Ferreira Viana, with crafts and paintings, next to General Osório station; the square also has a fruit and vegetable market.3 Ipanema covers 308.49 hectares and had 42,743 residents in 2010.3

Arpoador, a small rocky peninsula shared by Ipanema and Copacabana, is the place for sunset. Around midsummer the sun goes down over the sea, which is rare on Brazil’s east-facing coast, and the crowd on the rock cheers as it disappears; the same rock breaks left-hand waves of up to 7–10 feet for surfers.4

Sources

  1. Ipanema, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Rio de Janeiro Metro, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Ipanema, Wikipedia (Portuguese), accessed October 2026
  4. Arpoador, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In Ipanema & Arpoador, also browse: Bakery cafés

FAQ

Ipanema & Arpoador cafés: questions

Which street in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, has the most cafés?

Rua Visconde de Pirajá. Aussie Coffee is at number 98, Baked at 187, Do Brasil Café e Bistrô at 207, Le P’tit Cafe at 444, Limas Café at 547, AS Cafe and Zazá Bistrô Café at 572 and Ipanema Cafe at 605. Rua Vinícius de Moraes adds The Coffee Store and Nusa Café.

When is the Feira Hippie in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro?

The Feira Hippie is held on Sundays on Praça General Osório, next to General Osório metro station, with crafts and paintings. Hippies started it in 1968, and it now has more than 700 stalls. On Sundays the road nearest Ipanema beach also closes to traffic.

Why do people applaud the sunset at Arpoador in Rio de Janeiro?

Around midsummer, the sun sets over the sea as seen from the Arpoador rock, which is rare on Brazil’s east-facing coast, and the crowd cheers as it disappears. Arpoador is a small rocky peninsula between Ipanema and Copacabana, about 4 km on foot from Leblon.

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