There is no more scenic bar setting in Rio than Palaphita Kitch. Built on wooden stilts directly over the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas — the lagoon that sits between Leblon and Ipanema — the bar looks directly at Sugarloaf on one side and the mountains above Tijuca on the other. At sunset, when the sky goes pink and the city's soundtrack shifts from traffic to something more forgiving, it achieves a kind of impossible beauty.

The bar has been here since 2003, and it works because it does not overcomplicate the proposition. Cold caipirinhas in large plastic cups, cold beer, adequate coxinhas from the kitchen. The furniture is mismatched wood and rattan. The whole thing feels like it was thrown up overnight, which gives it a lightness that the more designed bars in Ipanema and Leblon never quite manage.

Go for sunset on a weekday if you want space. Weekends are packed but retain the charm — the Carioca gift for communal pleasure in small spaces is genuinely singular. For context on Rio's rooftop scene, see our guide to the city's best outdoor bars.