Petrópolis
This entails a drive of about an hour (65kms), up into the beautiful mountains and jungles behind Rio, to the Regal town of Petrópolis; and a visit to it's Imperial Museum.
Upon arriving in Petrópolis there's soon the house in which Stefan Zweig lived and wrote his "Brasil, Land of the Future". - Further on one also gets to see the house in which Alberto Santos Dumont invented the motorized airplane ... and the wrist-watch ... and ... and ...; then the cathedral, where Pedro II (Brazil's 2nd emperor) and his family are buried; - and the Crystal Palace, where princess Isabel held concerts for the common mortals; - also the "Quitandinha", formerly a casino built in the Tudor style, where one can lunch, choosing from a restaurant on the lake-shore, or one within the "Quitandinha" itself.
This tour usually takes around 5 - 6 hours.