Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, with its picturesque placing between sea and mountains is one of the world's most scenic cities. Despite its reputation for crime and violence the city is fairly safe for those who use commonsense. Accommodation and restaurants are reasonably prices while public transport is fairly efficient, especially the subway system. The city center is reserved for business and this is where you will find most airline offices, consulates and foreign exchange bureaus as well as many museums and colonial buildings. Copacabana is Rio's most famous beach and despite being fairly crowded and not so clean is has an unmistakable buzz. The majority of Rio's medium and expensive hotels are based in Copacabana and the area has plenty of restaurants, bars and other entertainment. Further south are Ipanema and Leblon, which are a little more up market. Most of the better restaurants and night clubs are in Ipanema while Pedra do Arpoador is one of the nicest places to watch the sun set. Barra da Tijuca has Rio's longest beach, stretching over 12 km, but is a little difficult to get to without a car. Apart from the beach, a good idea is to take the tram through the old Santa Teresa neighborhood and all the way up to the famous Christ the Redeemer statue, which has a fantastic view of the whole city. Other attractions are the Maracana football stadium, one of the largest in the world with a capacity of around 180,000, and the sugar loaf mountain, which also has an impressive view and can be reached by cable car. If you like to gamble you can go to the Joquei Club racetrack with has horse races most days. Also if you are a little more adventurous you can go handgliding off the 510 meter Pedra Bonita on the Pepino beach in Sao Conrado. The city also has the world`s largest urban park, Parque da Tijuca, which is well worth a visit for its trails, waterfalls and lookouts. For the more courageous there are many Favela tours through the surrounding shantytowns, which are usually quiet safe if accompanied by a guide. You can also take a 15-minute ferryboat trip across to Niteroi and Ilha da Paqueta, which has a different feel to it than Rio.

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