Books, reading, and literature are almost certainly not what comes to mind when you think of Rio, but this gem is well worth a stop when you're taking in the sights of downtown. Founded by Portuguese immigrants in 1837, its limestone façade inspired by Lisbon's elaborately Gothic-Renaissance Jerônimos Monastery, the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura is handsome outside but downright amazing within, its main reading room not terribly large but soaring up to an iron skylight (the first of its kind in Brazil), with elegant blue-and-gold ornamentation along the walls, a striking chandelier, and a lovely monument of silver, ivory and marble celebrating the European age of discovery.