What's on in Rio de Janeiro (Rio), Brazil through the year

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Reveillon on Copacabana

• Rule

  Corcovado timed tickets

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  You reach the statue on the cog train or an authorised van, both sold as timed slots online, and the clear mornings after a storm sell out first. Turning up at Cosme Velho on the day rarely works. Source ↗

• Season

  Warmest sea of the year

  15 Jan – 15 Apr · usuallySea warm enough

  The Atlantic off Ipanema and Copacabana holds its heat well past the summer crowds; the water is at its best in March, when the beaches have emptied.

Still on: Late-afternoon storms (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)), Reveillon on Copacabana (30 Dec – 1 Jan)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Carnival

• Festival

  Carnival

  13–18 FebCrowdedBook early

  The city stops for the best part of a week. Street blocos run from breakfast for a fortnight beforehand, the Sambadrome parades run overnight, and everything costs more. Source ↗

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Warmest sea of the year (15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Late-afternoon storms (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Warmest sea of the year (15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Carnival (13–18 Feb), Late-afternoon storms (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Dia de Sao Jorge

• Holiday

  Dia de Sao Jorge

  23 AprNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  A state holiday in Rio and a genuinely popular one: queues round the block at the Sao Jorge church in Quinta da Boa Vista from dawn, and offices and banks shut for the day. Source ↗

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Warmest sea of the year (15 Jan – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks

• Season

  Dry season

  15 May – 15 Sep · usually

  Warm days, cool nights and the clearest air of the year: the months when Corcovado and Pao de Acucar actually show you the city rather than a cloud.

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Festa Junina

  1–30 JunMajor festival

  Bonfires, quadrilha dancing and corn in every form, held in squares and schools right through June, in the driest and clearest month of the year here. Source ↗

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dry season (15 May – 15 Sep (usually))

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Brazilian winter holidays

• Season

  Brazilian winter holidays

  1–31 JulSchool holidaysCrowded

  Schools across the country break for July and Rio takes a domestic crowd rather than a foreign one. Sugarloaf and Corcovado queue on the clear days, and flights from Sao Paulo are priced for it.

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dry season (15 May – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks

• Nature

  Ipe trees in flower

  15 Aug – 30 Sep · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The yellow ipes come out across the city and the Tijuca forest in late winter, weeks before anything else looks like spring.

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dry season (15 May – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Dry season (15 May – 15 Sep (usually)), Ipe trees in flower (15 Aug – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Reveillon on Copacabana

• Hazard

  Late-afternoon storms

  1 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallyFlood season

  Summer heat builds into heavy storms that arrive in the late afternoon and can flood the road tunnels and the north zone within an hour, then clear. Source ↗

• Festival

  Reveillon on Copacabana

  30 Dec – 1 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Two million people in white on the beach for midnight, offerings pushed into the sea, and no way in or out of the south zone by car for hours. Source ↗

Still on: Corcovado timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)