Escadaria Selarón

Escadaria Selarón is Jorge Selarón’s tiled staircase from Lapa toward Santa Teresa — a work he called a tribute to the Brazilian people.

Locally the Lapa Steps, the flight climbs from Rua Joaquim Silva / Rua Manoel Carneiro up the hill. The Chilean-born artist covered the steps in tiles gathered over years; the staircase is both a walk and a photograph.

Go in daylight if you can — the tiles are the point, and the climb is easier to share with fewer people in the morning.

How to go

Walk toward Rua Joaquim Silva and Rua Manoel Carneiro; the tiled flight starts there, on the Santa Teresa side of Lapa.