After hotel pickup, your vehicle rolls right up in front of Rio Scenarium, a club located in Lapa. Avoid the line that can stretch down the block, around the corner and into a parking lot. With your skip-the-line voucher, your group (limited to 13) is whisked through the entrance and led to a private table.

Discover for yourself why Rio Scenarium has been ranked by TripAdvisor reviewers as the city’s best nightlife scene when you head into the spacious three-level club. The two top floors overlook the dance floor and stage at ground level, allowing you to chat with friends and still listen to the music played by popular bands and DJs who play here regularly. Or watch the couples and families below, young and old, sing along and swing hips to samba.

Walk around and check out the antique oddities found everywhere. In one corner, find the original art-deco furnishings from Bharm□cia, a 1936 pharmacy-bar that used to operate near the Lapa Arches. Movie props ─ scooters, radios, mannequins, vintage clocks, old barber chairs, suits of armor ─ also line the walls.

Buy a caipirinha, a traditional Brazilian cocktail made with cachaa (sugarcane hard liquor) and small plates called pores.

Spend the rest of the night strutting your moves to bossa nova, samba or choro, and when you’re ready to turn in, enjoy transport back to your hotel.