RIO DE JANEIRO MY CITTY

Ipanema Beach, the liveliest beach of Rio covers an area of five miles. The beach gives a panoramic view of the traditional surrounding of the Carioca beach culture, sometimes called the Praia culture. The beach gets plenty of sunshine and women wear the famous dental floss bikinis and men wear sungas. It advisable to hire beach chairs and umbrellas, to avoid sunburn. These are readily available from local barracas.

The beach is surrounded by inviting, clear blue water. The centre of attraction on the Ipanema beach is the ritual by local carioca women as they enter the water. Tourists of all ages are attracted to this beach and this adds movement and joy throughout the day on Ipanema Beach. Everything on the beach is amazing; swimming in the blue water, playing sports, shopping or just enjoying the nightlife at the several pubs around the beach.













From sandy white beaches with bikini clad women to dramatic mountain views and a giant statue of Christ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is as exotic as they come.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is South America’s party capital. It’s Spring Break and Carnival 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. This is a list of the cities top 5 attractions that all visitors should not miss.Places to visit:

Centro

As Rio's business district, Centro offers little more than a place to change traveller's cheques or as a jumping off point for the rickety tram to Santa Tereza. During business hours it's worth a wander to see where most Carioca's work, and to see the ornate Opera House, though its best avoided on Sunday when it's an easy place to be relieved of your valuables.

Copacabana Beach

This is the center of Rio, whether you live in a favela or a luxury condo in Ipanema; and on summer days and weekends, the beach is packed with people sunbathing, rollerblading, playing futvolley, or just posing in the white sand. The people watching afforded here puts most other world beach hotspots like Venice Beach in Los Angeles or Bondi Beach in Sydney to shame; the name of the game in Copacabana is to show as much flesh as you can with as little lycra as possible so ladies - be prepared to get waxing!

Ipanema Beach

Copacabana's ritzier elder sister, Ipanema beach spawned one of the most iconic songs of the 1960's written to immortalize the beautiful women who frequent it. The waves are stronger here than in Copacabana, the bodies are more perfectly tanned, buffed and primped, therefore its no wonder that this is the preferred beach to the super rich in Rio and the most beautiful ones at that.

Tijuca

As the world's largest tropical rainforest set within a major city, Tijuaca is like the lungs of Rio, offering a cool green respite to the crowded hot concrete jungle surrounding the preserve. Hiking trails are so numerous that people can still get lost for days here and its unwise to hike in the park alone, especially in the early and late hours when theft can be a problem. Tijuaca is a fantastic place to experience the beauty of the South Atlantic rainforest that once stretched all along the coast south of Rio de Janeiro.

Santa Tereza

Originally settled in as a way for the city's rich to escape a cholera epidemic gripping the coastal lowlands around Rio, Santa Tereza affords a sweeping view of the city, from the glinting roofs of the favelas to the gleaming skyscrapers of Centro to the out-stretched arms of Jesus the Redeemer in between. The colonial enclave was once the home of the great train robber Ronnie Biggs, and is now re emerging as one of the city's trendier neighbourhoods.

Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor)

As one of the world's top five iconic spots, Cristo Redentor is not to be missed by any visitor to Rio. During the day, the view of the city's bays, mountains neighbourhoods and beaches seem to stretch forever, while at night, the tiny platform seems to float above the city like a spacecraft hovering above the city's twinkling lights. No matter where you stay or visit in Rio, the statue and the trademark outstretched arms are always visible, through gaps in buildings and crowned on top of rain-forested hills.

Sugarloaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar)

The two stage cable car system that connects the smooth limestone monoliths was featured in a chase scene in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker. The bubble glass tram cars afford magnificent views as you glide up to the top, so keep that camera handy. From the lower station helicopter flights take off for scenic views of Rio, as small jets rush past to land at Santos Dumont Airport. A full afternoon is well worth putting aside for visiting Sugarloaf, especially in late afternoon as the city glows in the rays of the setting sun.

The favellas

Almost one third of Rio's inhabitants live in the nearly 500 slum favellas that surround the city. Immortalized for the drug-fuelled violence in films such as City of God, the favellas can be a dangerous and risky place to visit. But tours now exist for travellers who want to see how these people live, most of whom have immigrated to the city from Brazil's impoverished northeast.