Of all the works that Rio de Janeiro has prepared for the Olympics, the Olympic Boulevard is the most captivating. Even skeptics ended up surrendering to the transformation of the waterfront.

An elevated road and hundreds of meters of walls were torn down to make way for a 3.5 km boardwalk.

This sidewalk takes both the novelties of the area (the AquaRio, the Etnias mural, the Museum of Tomorrow, the MAR, the Olympic Pira, the brand new Rio Star Ferris wheel) as well as some of the more traditional attractions of the Center (such as the CCBB, the São Bento Monastery and Fiscal Island).

To make the tour even more irresistible, the best way to get there is using the friendly VLT, the modern cable car that brought comfort and safety to trips around the Center.

The curious thing is that ‘Olimpic Boulevard’ was just the nickname of the event that took place there during the Olympics, with concert stages and themed spaces for sponsors (equivalent to FIFA’s Fan Fests during the World Cup). Even after the end of the games, however, the official names of the area — Porto Maravilha from the warehouses in the port to Praça Mauá (where the Museum of Tomorrow is located), and Orla Conde da Praça Mauá to the surroundings of Praça XV (from where ferries leave for Niterói) — are used almost exclusively by the press and authorities. It’s no use: what really took off was Boulevard Olímpico.