Nova Feira de São Cristovão

Before all those tourists descend on Rio for the 2016 Olympics, Lonely Planet guidebooks in hand, I'm putting this out there: Despite what the Rio book says, Feira de São Cristóvão is NOT "not to be missed".

First things first: Lonely Planet refers to this place as "Feira Nordestina" but this listing, the outside of the structure which houses it, and their web site make clear that Feira de São Cristóvão is the actual name. Still, if you ask your cab driver to take you to "Feira Nordestina" you'll be taken here so perhaps the monikers are interchangeable. Essentially, you're asking to be taken to that giant swap meet with food, drink, music, and tchotchkes; the one that's open non-stop from Friday morning until Sunday evening plus a lot of additional hours Tuesday thru Thursday.

There's a small per person fee to enter and just inside is your first cachaca tasting booth. Not a bad way to begin. After that, there's row after row after row - over 600 stalls in all - of shops, bars, restaurants, and music. The fair, apparently, showcases Brazil's Northeast, meaning that the food and live and canned music are largely Bahian.

As a tourist, I have these observations:

* The stuff for sale here is not, by and large, the stuff you want to bring home with you. There's a lot of everyday, utilitarian products (e.g. children's backpacks) that hold no tourist appeal.

* At one place, in the center, people sit on benches watching televised bullfighting. Okay then...

* Come hungry and find a restaurant near to the live music on the perimeters. Interesting people-watching.

* Walk the interior rows and spy some couples dancing in poorly lit bars or friends doing the karaoke thing (in Portuguese).

* You're definitely in a different part of Rio here (Zona Norte), more gritty and not catering to tourists. I didn't feel uncomfortable here but I also didn't feel like I fit in. I took a cab here and back (available just outside the gates) and felt glad to get back to the part of Rio that was a better fit for me.

If you want to see an authentic slice of Zona Norte and maybe get a taste of Brazil's Bahian culture you might enjoy this. To me, it was just a giant swap meet and I beg to differ with Lonely Planet. I could've missed it without regret.

We've always seen this place from the highway on the way to the airport. It's a huge open stadium with a string of covered stalls. There's two main entrances with easy to buy ticket booths for the R$5 entrance fee. One of the entrances has carnival rides for the kids and a mechanical bull for those brave enough to try it. There's a bronze statue of Lampiao and of course many souvineers of his liking to be found inside. They display affordable keychains, trinkets and statutes of typical Nordeste cultural themes (Lampiao, Guinea fowl, Bahia ladies) as well as anything with soccer team logos.
There's lot of clothes, tons of food, speciality cachaça and more karaoke stands then you can imagine. Food includes small street stands and bars to fully air conditioned sit-down restaurants. Beware the power cuts out frequently, especially when the temperature outside is hot. The larger restaurants have their own generators but most shops don't and it can get dark and the music cuts and it becomes eerily quiet. It's probably a good time to get your ice cream before it gets all soft and melted. They have quite a few stands with typical fruits from the north.
This place gives a good feel of Brazilian flavor and culture from the Northern region. Families come out to eat large meals or play games, dance to the live music of forro.none could spend all day wandering the many isles of commercial goods, drinking, eating and singing of course.

I love outdoor markets! Fiera de São Cristóvão is a nice place to refuel before partying during Carnaval. There are plenty of shops with souvenirs and other miscellaneous items, so keep your eyes peeled for that gifts for those back home that are not blessed to be there with you. I had my first açaí here and it was great.

If you are a fan of live music, there were at least 3 different stages where bands were playing and people were dancing. If you enjoy people watching, this is a great place for that as well.

I only bought a few items and did bargain with one of the vendors, I don't know if that's expected but did save a few reais. If you go during a busy time, and when isn't it?, expect crowded stores and it being hard to walk through. Keep your valuables protected as pickpockets are probably in this place. Plan on paying to park your car nearby.

Love it! Great brazilian good options and various stages with live music. I highly recommend going in the afternoon or evening.

For street food, street vendors,try Feira de São Cristóvão. Lots of options in there. Or maybe you will see street vendors when you walk around thru the neighbourhoods that you might like. Lots of food, music, crafts and an interesting place to visit. Buy your cool hammocks there! The party starts every Friday and they are open 24 hours/day until Sunday....Rio never sleeps (sleep in the plane).

This place kicks ass, we go a lot, good restaurants that serve food from the northeast of Brazil, I enjoy the carne do sol, several of the restaurants serve large portions, we hit the butcher and buy meat for the house, cheaper than the markets. also have many shops to buy food, clothing and trinkets from the northeast. Love this place.