Rio de Janeiro is one of the most misread cities in the world. Visitors arrive expecting beaches and carnival, and leave having seen exactly that — and nothing more. These experiences are designed for a different kind of traveler. Someone who wants to understand what they're looking at, not just photograph it.

Each tour below is built around a cultural thread — history, music, football, nature, community — and led by someone who knows Rio not as a backdrop, but as a place where real people live real lives.