Rio De Janeiro Sights

Feira Nordestina

#68 of 674 things to do in Rio de Janeiro

#68 of 674 things to do in Rio de Janeiro

2 reviews | Write a review

Good for: having a good a time, local bands, people with a brain

Not good for: the weak-bladdered, casual tourists

  • Address
    • Campo de São Cristóvão São Cristóvão
  • Phone
    • 021 3860 9976
  • Price
    • admission R$1
  • Hours
    • 10am-4pm Tue-Thu & 10am Fri to 10pm Sun

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Lonely Planet review for Feira Nordestina

The enormous Feira Nordestina is not to be missed. The fair (32,000 sq meters with 658 stalls) showcases the culture from the Northeast, with barracas (stalls) selling Bahian dishes as well as beer and cachaça (sugarcane spirit), which flows in great abundance. Bands perform forró (popular music of the Northeast), samba and Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). On Friday, the fair turns into a huge party that runs nonstop until Sunday.

 

Traveller reviews for Feira Nordestina (2)

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    experienced the rythm of Rio, wouldn't want to miss it

    k3nny recommends this,

    hello, i saw the remarks below, and i had to reply/recommend this place.

    i can totally understand that the place is very very seedy on a sunday afternoon,
    and yes DO NOT BRING CAMERA'S in that neighbourhood.

    well here begins my story, i had the luck a brazilian co-worker of mine,
    took me to the place on a friday night, we took the bus from copacabana to the centre and took another one there, (highly recommended to go with the bus by the way its a whole xperience itself) thats stops in front of the feira,

    once inside i came in another world the foodstalls, the people, the music
    the rythm, it grabs you and wont let you go, Real Samba and salsa coming out of one of the many bars deep down the labyrinth of stalls,
    drink the best Caipirinha's (however you spell it) made by Tobias, ex brazilian national football player,

    you love it or hate it,no fancy clothing and jewelry stalls,
    no brand clothing,

    because it is real life, just a real taste of rio

    and i love it

    Good for: having a good a time, local bands, people with a brain

    Not good for: the weak-bladdered, casual tourists

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    Surprisingly seedy for a Sunday afternoon!

    addeveson does not recommend this,

    Hi! We are 27 year old budget travellers / husband & wife who have been in South America for 9 months.

    The feira is a fairly long way from the tourist area. We took the Metro from Botafogo station to Sao Cristovao station (one train change required, 20 minutes). We got a bit confused and it took us 40 mins to get from the st'n to the feira. A taxi is also possible from the station - possibly better as the walk went through some dodgy patches. There are also buses that run much closer to the fair than the subway.

    We were at the fair at 1pm on a Sunday. There are some extremely cheap and delicious restaurants with Northeastern Brazilian food. There is also live music acts and spontaneous dancing amongst young & old alike. There are also some good stalls selling decent quality foodstuffs.

    However the atmosphere was also seedy at least to us, especially in the area around the toilets. There were a few prostitutes and lots of people on drugs or drunk in this particular spot. Yes, local people do bring their small children here, but if you do I would definitely bring earplugs for them and be alert especially around the toilets.. The markets themselves are mostly full of imported low-grade goods from China - back home we would call is $2 shop type things. I am sure there are some nice things it's just that we didn't really see any. Also, noise is an issue with lots of diff. restaurants playing music loudly near one another. Our SLR camera attracted an unusually high amount of attention - we just kept it in the backpack and locked it unless we wanted to take a picture.

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