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Much of historical Rio is concentrated in Centro , with pockets of interest, too, in the neighbouring Saude and Lapa quarters of the city. You'll find you can tour the centre fairly easily on foot. It's worth repeating, though, that the real interest of Rio lies elsewhere - at the beaches of the Zona Sul, and the heights of Urca and Corcovado - and it's not the most exciting city in Brazil to explore. Lots of the old historical squares, streets and buildings disappeared in the twentieth century under a torrent of redevelopment, and fighting your way through the traffic - the reason many of the streets were widened in the first place - can be quite a daunting prospect. However, although a lot of what remains is decidedly low-key, there are enough churches and interesting museums to keep anybody happy for a day or two. The cultural influences that shaped the city through its five centuries of existence - the austere Catholicism of the city's European founders, the squalor of colonialism and the grandiose design of the Enlightenment - are all reflected in the surviving churches, streets and squares
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