DISCOVER RIO DE JANEIRO

Rio de Janeiro is the name of both a state and a city in south-eastern Brazil. The city was the capital of Brazil (1763-1960) and of the Portuguese Empire (1808-1821). Commonly known as just Rio (particularly in English and by its inhabitants), the city is also nicknamed A Cidade Maravilhosa - "The Marvelous City".

It is famous for its spectacular natural setting, its Carnival celebrations, samba and other music, hotel-lined tourist beaches, such as Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon, pavements decorated with black and cream swirl pattern mosaics, and the easy-going lifestyle of its inhabitants.

---

---

Some of the most famous local landmarks besides the beaches are the giant statue of Jesus, known as Christ the Redeemer ('Cristo Redentor') atop Corcovado mountain; Sugar Loaf mountain (Pao de Açúcar) with its cable car; the Sambódromo, a giant permanent parade stand used during Carnival; and Maracana stadium, one of the world's largest. Rio also boasts the world's largest forest inside an urban area, called Floresta da Tijuca, or 'Tijuca Forest'.

The population of the City of Rio de Janeiro is over 6 million, occupying an area of 1182.3 km² (456.5 mi²). The larger metropolitan area population is estimated at 11-12 million. It is Brazil's second-largest city after Sao Paulo and was the country's capital until 1960, when Brasília took its place. Residents of the city are known as Cariocas.

The official song of Rio is "Cidade Maravilhosa."

Rio has a typically tropical climate with warm to hot temperatures year-round and generally high humidity. Summer heat can be oppressive, occasionally reaching 40°C (104°F) and higher. However, the cool waters of the local beaches provide an excellent escape, as do high-elevation areas nearby, such as Petrópolis. Precipitation is moderately high, being most heavy in the summer months when thunderstorms are common. The same cool waters enjoyed by local beachgoers prevent tropical cyclones from forming off the coast of Brazil.

DISTRICTS OF RIO DE JANEIRO

The city is commonly divided into the historic downtown (Centro); the tourist-friendly South Zone, with world-famous beaches; the industrial North Zone; and the West Zone, with the newer Barra da Tijuca district.

• DOWNTOWN RIO DE JANEIRO

Centro (or Downtown in American English) is the historic centre of the city. Sites of interest include the so-called 'Paço Imperial', built during colonial times to serve as residence to the Portuguese governors of Brazil; many historic churches, such as the Candelária; the modern-style cathedral, the Municipal Theatre and several museums.

Downtown remains the heart of the city's business community. The "Bondinho", a tram (trolley car), leaves from a city centre station, crosses a former Roman-style aqueduct – the 'Arcos da Lapa', built in 1750 and converted to a tram viaduct in 1896 - and rambles through the hilly streets of the Santa Teresa neighbourhood nearby.

• THE SOUTH ZONE

The South Zone of Rio de Janeiro is composed of several districts, amongst which are Sao Conrado, Leblon, Ipanema, Arpoador, Copacabana and Leme, which compose Rio's famous beach coastline. Other districts in the South Zone are Botafogo, Flamengo and Urca, which border Guanabara Bay and Lagoa, Gávea, Jardim Botânico and Laranjeiras.

The neighbourhood of Copacabana beach hosts one of the world's most spectacular New Year's Eve parties ("Reveillon"), as more than two million revellers crowd onto the sands to watch the firework display. As of 2001, the fireworks have been launched from boats, to improve the safety of the event.

To the north of Leme, and at the entrance to Guanabara bay, lies the district of Urca and the Sugarloaf Mountain ('Pao de Açúcar'), whose name describes the famous hump rising out of the sea.

The summit can be reached via a two-stage cable car trip from Praia Vermelha, with the intermediate stop on Morro da Urca. It offers views second only to Corcovado mountain. One of the highest mountains in the city, however, at 842 metres, is the Pedra da Gávea (Topsail Rock), in Sao Conrado.

Hang gliding is a popular activity on the nearby peak, called Pedra Bonita (Beautiful Rock) – after a short flight, gliders land on the Praia do Pepino beach in Sao Conrado.

Since 1961, the Tijuca Forest ("Floresta da Tijuca"), the largest city-surrounded urban forest and the second largest urban forest in the world, has been a National Park. The largest urban forest in the world is the Floresta da Pedra Branca (White Rock Forest), which is also located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Catholic University in Rio (Pontifícia Universidade Catôlica-Rio, or PUC-Rio) sits right at the edge of the forest linking city with forest.

The 1984 film Blame it on Rio was filmed nearby, with the rental house used by the story's characters sitting at the edge of the forest on a mountain overlooking the famous beaches

• THE NORTH ZONE

The North Zone of Rio is home to the Maracana stadium, once the world's highest capacity football (soccer) venue, able to hold nearly 180,000 people (As observed during the World Cup final of 1950). (The biggest football stadium is the Rungnado May Day Stadium, in Pyongyang, North Korea ) In modern times the capacity has been reduced to conform with modern safety regulations and the stadium has introduced seating for all fans. Currently undergoing renovation, it only has the capacity for 45,000 fans, it will eventually hold around 120,000 people. Maracana will be the site for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and football competition of the 2007 Pan-American Games.

Besides the Maracana, the North Zone of Rio also holds other tourist and historical attractions, such as 'Manguinhos', the home of Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, a centenarian biomedical research institution, with its main building fashioned like a Moorish castle, and the beautiful 'Quinta da Boa Vista', the old imperial palace (Paço), which is now the National Museum.

The International Airport of Rio de Janeiro (Galeao – Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport, named after the famous Brazilian musician "Tom" Jobim), the main campus of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro at the Fundao Island, and the Governador Island are also located in the Northern part of Rio. Some of the main neighbourhoods of Rio's north zone are Tijuca, who shares The Tijuca Forest with the South Zone, and Grajaú, Vila Isabel, Méier, Sao Cristovao among others.

• THE WEST ZONE

The West Zone is the region furthest from the centre of Rio de Janeiro. It includes Barra da Tijuca, Jacarepaguá, Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Vargem Grande, Vargem Pequena, Campo Grande, Sulacap, and Santa Cruz. Neighbouring districts within the West Zone reveal stark differences between social classes. The area has industrial zones, but some agricultural areas still remain in its wide area.

Westwards from the older zones is Barra da Tijuca, a flat expanse of formerly undeveloped coastal land, which is currently experiencing a wave of new construction. It remains an area of accelerated growth, attracting some of the richer sectors of the population as well as luxury companies. High rise flats and sprawling shopping centres give the area a far more American feel than the crowded city centre. The urban planning of the area, made in the late 1960s, resembles that of United States' suburbs, though mixing zones of single-family houses with residential skyscrapers.

The beaches of Barra da Tijuca are also popular with the city's residents. Barra da Tijuca is the home of Pan-American Village for the 2007 Pan American Games. Barra da Tijuca now has a tiny, but growing movement for separating Barra from the city of Rio and making Barra a new city.

Beyond the neighbourhoods of Barra da Tijuca and Jacarepaguá another district, which has exhibited good economic growth, is that of Campo Grande. Some sports competitions in the Pan-American Games of 2007 will be held in the Miécimo da Silva Sports Centre, nicknamed the 'Algodao' (Cotton) Gymnasium, and others in the Ítalo del Cima Stadium, in Campo Grande.

CULTURAL EVENTS IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Rio de Janeiro is among the biggest cities in South America, but the city is more widely renowned for the various cultural celebrations that are held there every year. The most popular of these is the Carnival, held two weeks before the traditional Christian fasting of Lent.

Not only people from all over Brazil, but from all parts of the world come to Rio to take part and witness the extravaganza. The Carnival comes with a lot of music, good food, color and of course the Samba dance. The celebration of Carnival ends on "Mardi Gras" Tuesday.

Apart from the Carnival, New Year is also a big deal in Rio and is also one of the other major festivals.

CARNAVAL IN RIO

The carnaval in Rio de Janeiro has many choices, including the famous Escolas de Samba (Samba schools) parades in the sambódromo exhibition centre and the popular 'blocos de carnaval', which parade in almost every corner of the city. The most famous ones are the following:

• Cordao do Bola Preta: Parades in the centre of the city. It is one of the most traditional carnavals. In 2006, it gathered 200,000 people in one day.
• Suvaco do Cristo: Band that parades in the Botanic Garden, directly below the Redeemer statue's arm. The name, in English, translates as 'Christ's armpit', and was chosen for that reason.
• Carmelitas: Band that was supposedly created by nuns, but in fact it is just a theme chosen by the band. It parades in the hills of Santa Teresa, which have very nice views.
• Simpatia é Quase Amor: One of the most popular parades in Ipanema. Translates as 'Friendliness is almost love'.
• Banda de Ipanema: The most traditional in Ipanema. It attracts families as well as gay people and drag queens.

SPORTS IN RIO

Rio de Janeiro will host the 2007 Pan American Games. More notable sports events in Rio includes the MotoGP Brazilian Grand Prix and the World Beach volleyball finals. Jacarepaguá was the place of Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix into 1978-1990 and the Champ Car event into 1996-1999. WCT/WQS Surf championships was disputed on the beaches from 1985-2001. The city is building a new stadium near the Maracana, to hold 45,000 people. It will be named after Brazilian ex-FIFA president Joao Havelange. Rio de Janeiro was also a candidate for the 2012 Summer OlympicS.

Copacabana beach will be the site of the triathlon and beach volleyball with yachting competitions held in Guanabara Bay.

Sports are a very popular pastime in Rio de Janeiro. The most popular is futebol (football/soccer). Rio de Janeiro is home to four traditional Brazilian football clubs: Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco etc.

Other popular sports are beach football, beach volleyball, surfing, kitesurfing, hang gliding, motor racing, jiu-jitsu, recreational sailing, and sport rowing. The peculiarly Brazilian dance/sport/martial art Capoeira is also popular. Another sport that is highly popular on the beaches of Rio is what is termed in Brazil "Fresco Ball" (or Matkot), a type of beach tennis.

Rio de Janeiro is also a paradise for rock climbers, with hundreds of routes all over the town, ranging from easy boulders to highly technical big wall climbs, all inside the city. The most famous, Rio's granite mountain, the Sugar Loaf (Pao de Açúcar), is an example, with routes from the easy 3rd grade (American 5.4, French 3) to the extremely difficult 9th grade (5.13/8b), up to 280 metres.

Hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro started in the mid 1970s and quickly proved to be perfectly suited for this town, due to its geography; steep mountains encounter the Atlantic Ocean, which provide excellent take-off locations and great landing zones on the beach. Starting with amateur flights, this activity soon turned into a profitable industry of tandem hang gliding with some very experienced pilots at a cost for a ride around US$ 100.00. In the Summer, between December and March, it’s recommended to book in advance.

Fishing is a very popular activity in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro, one can expect to catch a plethora of famous Brazilian copperfish, known as peixe de cobre. Many markets sell peixes de cobre and these fish are quite popular for traditional meals.

RIO DE JANEIRO TOURS, TRAVEL AND ACTIVITIES

RIO DE JANEIRO HOTELS & ACCOMMODATION