Information on Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Rio de Janeiro

The first Portuguese explorers that arrived
at Guabanara bay were amazed because of its extraordinary beauty.
Rio de Janeiro grew up to the sides of the bay, the Marvelous City.
Fantasy name to a perfect combination of sea, earth, climate and
people. A nice mixture of the Indian, White and Black cultures,
fermented in a magnificent natural scenery.
Cosmopolitan city, Brazil’s capital for
almost 200 years, Rio de Janeiro is one of the most main culture
centers on the country, with a lot of cinemas, theaters, museums,
rooms of concert, show houses, art galleries and libraries.
Big gastronomical zone, the restaurants on the city offer a lot
of options, from international cookery to typical dishes from all
Brazilian regions. Very few cities in the world are able to concentrate,
in a very cool way, all the little icons that makes life a party:
beach, sun, samba, frozen beer, tasteful food, football, beautiful
people, streets with light curves that lead to little tropical forests.
Rio de Janeiro is an intense modernity,
and it’s also a quotidian meeting with the past. The baroque
art found in churches and monasteries, the deco art found in very
preserved residential facades, the modernist architecture from 1950’s:
all of these elements make Rio a witness of its own history.
Rio is a city that echoes, vibrates. With the
sound of surdos, tabors, tambourines and cuicas, that mark the compass
of Carnival. With the explosion of a goal in Maracanã stadium,
where 170 thousand people support their football teams. With the
roaring of the waves in the rocks and with the colorful crack of
fireworks in the Réveillon. Rio pulsates in a permanent celebration
to life.
DON’T MISS OUT
Beaches
Going to a beach in Rio is more than abandoning yourself in the
sand and enjoying the sea. It’s walking, bicycling, meeting
friends, watching the sunset, appreciating the walk around in the
walkway, drinking coconut water or a very frozen beer and waiting
for the evening.
Corcovado
Watching the city from high up Corcovado, where Christ is, with
open arms above Guanabara bay. You can get to the lookout by car
or by a tourist little train that climbs up the hill crossing the
forest.
Pão de Açúcar
Another postal card on Rio de Janeiro is a hill in the entrance
of Guanabara bay. You can get there by a panoramic cable car that
offers one of the most beautiful views on the city. Floresta da
Tijuca (Tijuca's Forest) Very near to South Zone, it’s a very
exuberant tropical forest, with waterfalls and cascades, within
urban area.
Jardim Botânico and Lagoa
Walking around Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden), walking
under the shadows of alleys of palms, breathing the clean air and
the peace of tree-lined streets is one of the most indicated programmes
to scape from the heat. Walking or bicycling, around the Lagoa Rodrigo
de Freitas’ (Rodrigo de Freitas' lake) border, magnificent
water mirror enclosed by mountains, that offers an equipped leisure
space and kiosks where you can eat and drink very well.
Museu de Arte Contemporânea (Contemporary
Art Museum)
Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, in Niterói city, in the opposite
side of Guanabara bay. You can get to Niterói with ferries
departing all time from the Rio city center.
Carnival
To visit the city in the Carnival period and to watch to so called
“the biggest show in the planet”, the parade of the
samba schools in the “Sambódromo”. It’s
a spectacle with colors, music and unforgettable and involving rhythm.
Réveillon
Staying in Copacabana during the réveillon and participating
in one of the most beautiful collective parties in Rio. At midnight,
the spectacle of fireworks begins, with white dressed people occupying
the entire border getting people crazy.
INFRASTRUCTURE
The city also offers excellent hotels and tourism agencies. There
is a good communication and installation system appropriate for
every nature events, like the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment in 1992, concentrating almost one hundred chiefs of
state in the biggest conventions center in the city.
HOW TO GET THERE
Rio de Janeiro is 1150 km far from Brasilia and 420 km far from
São Paulo. It’s has an enormous and modern International
Airport, that receives flights from all over Brazil and the world.
Galeão airport, next to the city center, operates with domestic
flights. It has road terminals with bus departing to cities all
over Brazil.
source:http://www.embratur.gov.br
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