Rio de Janeiro

Jazz at The Maze Inn

This B&B is on top of a hill in a favela (don't worry, there's a constant police presence) and is one of the coolest places in Rio right now. As well as beds, it has a great view across to Guanabara Bay and Sugar Loaf – and on the first Friday of the month owner Bob Nadkarni puts on a live music night of jazz, bossa nova and Brazilian standards. You can dance around the terrace, and if you've had too much to drink stay the night. In the morning see a sunrise you'll never forget.
• Rua Tavares Bastos 414, casa 66, Catete (+ 55 21 2558 5547, jazzrio.info). A combie runs up the hill from the corner of Rua Tavares Bastos and Rua Bento Lisboa. Doubles from £38 B&B

Celina Schlieckmann, textile designer

Palaphita Kitch

On the edge of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas – known simply as "Lagoa", or "Lake" – this bar and restaurant has views of Corcovado mountain and the Christ the Redeemer statue. Nice atmosphere with open-air seating, beautiful people and stunning views. The place specialises in making drinks and cocktails with tropical Brazilian fruits. Try the caipirinha made with tamarind. Perfect for happy hour.
• Avenida Epitácio Pessoa, Parque do Cantagalo, Lagoa (palaphitakitch.com.br)

Silvio Maurício Gomes, head concierge of Sofitel Copacabana

Cabaret das Rosas

This city-centre club is run by by Adriana Lima, of the famous Dama de Ferro electronic-music club in Ipanema. The vibe at Rosas is 1920s' Berlin burlesque set in a beautiful colonial building with the top floor turned into a stylish bar/club with live performances, antique furniture and great cocktails. Take care walking around this area – get a cab to the door.
• Rua Conselheiro Saraiva 12, Centro

Nadia Nightingale, writer and PR, based in Rio

Bar dos Descasados

This cool bar is up in the arty Santa Teresa neighbourhood, in the swanky designer Santa Teresa Hotel, once a coffee plantation mansion. It's beautifully romantic and away from the bustle of downtown – perfect for a caipirinha at sunset.
• Rua Almirante Alexandrino 660 (santa-teresa-hotel.com), rooms around £250 per night NN

Olimpo restaurant

Few Cariocas (Rio natives) know about this excellent restaurant with its panoramic view of Guanabara Bay. It was designed by the great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and is in Charitas, Niterói, on the other side of the bay. You can get there by boat – the ride alone makes it worthwhile. Take a ferry at Praça XV, in the city centre, to Charitas and get off at the restaurant pier, also designed by Niemeyer.
• Estação Hidroviária de Charitas, Avenida Quintino Bocaiúva (+55 21 2711 0554, restauranteolimpo.com.br)

Christina Baum, guest programmer of Brazilian Words at the London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre

Jazz and caipirinha ice-cream

For the best ice-cream in Rio, go to Amarena on Avenida Barata Ribeiro in Copacabana. It does fantastic flavours – everything from caipirinha and ginseng to exotic Amazonian fruits. Then cross the street to Modern Sound, the best CD shop in Rio, and listen to free jazz concerts at the bar (it also has a bistro). Or walk to the beach and watch the breathtaking sunset at the Forte de Copacabana.

• amarena.com.br; modernsound.com.br/ingles; fortedecopacabana.com CB

Carioca da Gema

This is the perfect place if you want to dance samba, drink beers and caipirinhas and eat Brazilian snacks such as bolinho de bacalhau (codfish balls), pastel de queijo (cheese pasties) and mandioquinha frita (fried manioc). It hosts all kinds of Brazilian live music and everyone is up for a dance.
• Rua Mem de Sá 79, Lapa (barcariocadagema.com.br) CB

São Paulo

Z Carniceria

The bottom end of Rua Augusta is where the beautiful people hang out, and one of the best bars in the area is Z Carniceria, in a former butcher's shop. With hooks hanging from the white-tiled walls combined with red lighting, it feels a bit trashy, but in a sexy way. It does delicious snacks and, ironically, the vegan options are great: try the veggie version of the house's classic meat sandwich, buraco quente.
• Rua Augusta 934, Consolação (zcarniceria.com.br)

Bebel Abreu, graphic designer (mandacarudesign.com)

Alberta#3

This place opened last month in República, the old city centre, which is being modernised. In the basement classic rock'n'roll is played, and on the first floor there are cosy couches and a bar with a retro vibe and an interesting mix of arty and media types.
• Avenida São Luís 272, República (alberta3.com.br)

Isabela Lages, lead singer of cabaret trio Suíte

Ó do Borogodó

This tiny bar is a great place to listen to good live samba bands, both old and new. Since it's really tiny, it gets full really quickly and then you can only get in once someone else leaves . . . although this is part of its charm. It's packed with young people, mostly students, and the music is always good. The best time to come is on a Sunday night. It opens at 7pm – be sure to get there early.
• Rua Horácio Lane, 21, Pinheiros

Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá, comic book artists. They will be appearing at Brazilian Words (details above)

Mercearia São Pedro

This is always full of writers, artists, fashion designers, directors and actors. It used to be a grocery and a video store, but now it's a restaurant and a bar, although it still sells books. It's open for lunch (delicious and not expensive) and doesn't close until late. It's open every day, but Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best nights.
• Rua Rodésia 34, Vila Madalena FM & GB

NEU Club

This is a great place if you want to dance all night to a good range of rock and pop music. Saturday is the best night, when the dancefloor is a sea of deliriously happy people. It opens at 11pm and soon enough there's always a long line of people waiting to get in, so don't get there too late.
• Rua Dona Germaine Burchard 421, Água Branca (neuclub.com.br) FM & GB

Studio SP

This is one of the best places in town to check out new Brazilian bands. You can hear everything from DJs to jazz to mangue beat, music from the northern city of Recife. On weekdays there is no entrance charge for early-evening shows – a bonus in this expensive city.
• Rua Augusta 591 (studiosp.org)

Juliano Zappio, publishing director, Jungle Drums, the magazine for Brazilian culture in London