Rio de JaneiroCommonly known as just Rio (particularly in English and by its inhabitants), the city is famous for its spectacular natural setting, the Carnival celebrations, samba, 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 in Rio de Janeiro besides the beaches are the giant statue of Jesus, known as Christ the Redeemer ('Cristo Redentor') atop Corcovado mountain; Sugar Loaf mountain with its cable car; the Sambódromo, a giant permanent parade stand used during Carnival; and Maracană stadium, one of the world's largest soccer stadiums. Rio also boasts the world's largest forest inside an urban area, called Floresta da Tijuca, or 'Tijuca Forest'.
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The following is an excerpt of what can be found in the tourist brochures published by the Brazilian embassy: Ciudade Maravillosa, "the marvellous city" as Rio de Janeiro is known to its residents (or cariocas) and the rest of Brazil, is also arguably the most beautiful city both in terms of its setting and its people. This is, after all, the city that brought us the "Girl from Ipanema" and all her friends.
It is the world's largest tropical city, is a mix of a major metropolitan centre, with all the facilities you might expect, with excellent restaurants, sophisticated night life, charming bars, musical extravaganzas, theatre, cinema, museums, art galleries and world-class shopping and sport, and a resort. As a tropical resort, Rio de Janeiro offers miles of golden beaches, including, Ipanema and Copacabana, two of the most famous stretches of sand in the world with near-perfect weather all year round. Rio has accommodation to suit every taste and budget, an abundance of folklore, local foods and music, and the feeling that when in Rio de Janeiro, you are in another world. Rio's Carnival is larger, livelier, louder and more diverse than any other and nothing can prepare the visitor for the sheer scale of the celebrations that take over the entire country. And it is the entire country, with the carnival celebrations in Salvador and Recife rivalling those in Rio de Janeiro in the hearts of the resident Brazilian population. Each carnival is unique and plays out to its own rhythms and styles, whether it's the samba schools in Rio de Janeiro, the Trios Eletricos in Salvador or the frevo and maracatu in Recife and Olinda. Rio de Janeiro's parade of the Samba Schools Internationally, the most recognisable element of Brazils carnival is the parade of the leading samba schools, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro on the Sunday and Monday night of carnival. The parade really is the greatest show on earth, the ultimate theatrical presentation that combines song, dance, movement, history and storytelling, that is performed in a competitive cauldron over two nights by more than 65,000 actors, dancers and musicians. Carnival is traditionally a pre-Lent celebration and is therefore a moveable holiday that culminates on Ash Wednesday. The dates for carnival are published and can be found in the A-Z of Brazil. Brazil does not only celebrate at carnival time. There are numerous 'carnivals' held out-of-season and other major events such as the Boi-Bumba, held at Parintins in the middle of the Amazon from 28-30 June, and the New Year celebrations in Rio. A list of the main carnivals and Brazilian festivities can be found at www.brazil.org.uk or by contacting the Brazilian Tourist Office. As both a city and a resort. Rio offers visitors plenty to see and do. To begin with there are the two landmark attractions of Corcovado, the mountain topped since 1931 by the statue of Christ, and Sugar Loaf, which guards the entrance to the Bay of Guanabara. Both mountains offer its own distinct experience and view of Rio - it is where their similarity ends. Sugar Loaf's name comes from the Portuguese, Pao de Acucar, and is presumed to have been given to the mountain because of its shape that resembles an old-fashioned cone of sugar, or 'sugar loaf'. However, it is also possible that the Portuguese name is a derivative of the Tupi Indian name for the mountain, Pau-nh-acuqua, which roughly translates as 'high hill, pointed and isolated'. Europeans first discovered Rio de Janeiro on 1 January 1502. The explorers, assuming they had sailed into the mouth of a great river, christened it River of January. Actually, it wasn't a river at all, but the name stuck. Once again, the native Indians were more accurate that the European visitors, their name of Guanabara meaning lagoon of the sea'. History has left its mark on Rio. After a turbulent beginning it became the capital of the Vice-Royalty of Brazil in 1763 and remained the nation's capital until 1960, when Brasilia was inaugurated. One of the city's defining moments was the arrival in 1808 of Dom Joao VI of Portugal. The Portuguese court and 15000 other nobles accompanied him and in effect Rio became the capital of the Portuguese Empire. This was the first and only time a European nation was ruled from the Americas. It was a period of rapid development and much of Rio's historical heritage can still be enjoyed. This includes the Sao Bento monastery, built between 1580 and 1641. Among the star attractions is the Municipal Theatre, built in 1905, the stage of which has been graced by many greats, from Sarah Bernhard, Caruso and Igor Stravinsky to Luciano Pavarotti and Montserrat Caballe. History never stands still and more recent landmarks include the Maracana Stadium, the world's largest football (soccer) stadium, which was built for the 1950 World Cup when nearly 200,000 packed the ground to see Brazil play. In 1990,180,000 Cariocas crowded into the stadium to see Paul McCartney play, a world record for a single act. Rio is a musical city and Brazil's cultural capital. It introduced bossa nova to the world in the 1960s and its musicians continue to influence the global music scene. Samba has its roots in Rio and the city's carnival celebrations, which climax with the parade of the main samba schools, are the biggest and best known in the world. The city also stages one of the great New Year celebrations. There is plenty to experience beyond the city boundaries, including the coastal playgrounds of the carlocas, Angra dos Reis and the Green Coast to the south and Buzios and the Sun Coast to the east. The colonial charms of Parati and the delights of the mountain resorts of Petropolis, Itaipava and Teresopolis, the former the summer residence of the Emperor. These are all within a two or three hour drive of the city centre. Rio de Janeiro is often the opening chapter and occasionally the only chapter to the Brazilian story for foreign visitors. But Rio is Rio, it is not the complete Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is special, very special, and the rest of the country is vast. It is time to explore. Everyone has beard of the country. They know about the soccer team and they have heard about carnival. They know there is an awful tot of coffee in Brazil and they have heard of Copacabana which they believe is in Rio de Janeiro. After that It all gets a bit hazy for some. What has become apparent is that there is a growing interest in Brazil and all things Brazilian among trayelers. It is as if Brazil has been redisdovered some 500 years after the first Europans landed in the state of Bahia on 22 April 1500. From the country's best known city, Rio de Janeiro, to the hidden secrets of the Pantanal, it is all there, and what isn't is only a mouse click or phone call away at the Brazilian Tourist office. So sit back and let your fingers and eyes do the walking and discover why you should be planning that trip to Brazil in the near future. 170 million Brazilians are waiting to give you a warm welcome and show you their country. You can find a lot more information about traveling to Brazil, including all the latest visa and vaccination requirements, at www.brazil.org.uk. We wish you a very pleasant and enjoyable trip to Brazil, whether your trip is an armchair trip or an actual in-person adventure.
A brief overview of the history of Rio Rio de Janeiro is situated on one of the most unique sites in the world. Surrounded by picturesque mountains, coves, and beaches, it is modern city and home to over 11 million inhabitants. Rio is located just north of the Tropic of Capricorn along the Brazilian Atlantic coast. The terrain is characterized by steep hills and mountains which are offshoots of the mountain range Sierra do Mar. These hills are granite based and lead inland to form the Brazilian Highlands. One of the most famous is the coastal mountain Sugar Loaf, which is the landmark most commonly associated with Rio. The original city was founded just inland from the coast on an inlet known as Guanabara Bay. This was thought to have been the mouth of a river, hence the name of Rio(meaning river) de Janeiro, given to the city. Early City Planning The three essential functions of early Portuguese settlements are access from the hinterland and the sea, military strongholds and religious centers. The center of the city, or Central Zone, was built on a hill, later named Morro de Castelo, for protection form invasion. As the city grew, this hill was later leveled and used as infill for expansion. This was a common occurrence as other hills were also leveled to fill in swampy, lowland areas for habitation. The hills around Rio severely limited where and how much expansion could take place. Most are too steep to develop and severely limited the direction which development occurred. By in filling into the bay, Rio was able to keep expanding, though on a limited basis. Though urban expansion continued, the Portuguese government never attempted any type of planning control. Spontaneous urbanization was typical of most Brazilian cities but this did not mean that Rio had no spatial order. Cities like Rio formed around several squares located near the waterfront and the center of the city along a hilltop. The important government and religious institutions were located here and streets would wind down the hill to the bay. Though this made for a picturesque setting, it later proved hampering to the modernization of Rio de Janeiro. Expansion Of the City Since the hills existed mainly to the south, most expansion was directed northward. The North Zone was much flatter and most development concentrated along the western side of the bay. Eventually the docks moved northward too and a separation occurred between the industrial sector to the north and the commercial sector to the south. This expansion of of the docks came on the heals of the discovery of gold and diamonds in nearby Minas Gerais along with the increasing demand for the traditional exports of coffee, sugar, rubber and cotton. Rio de Janeiro became the major port for Brazilian exports and grew quite rapidly during this period. Much of the city began to modernize. This was due in part to the resettling of the Portuguese monarchy in Rio and the increasing European population that came with. Infrastructure changes began in sewerage, telephone/telegraph, electric street lighting, and the widening and paving of roads. These improvements did not end with the city, but continued into the hinterland and created improved connections to cities and goods from the interior. The addition of the street car followed north-south routes from the central district to the northern suburbs, creating "fingers" of development along these lines. The creation of the first tunnel allowed for more development to focus in on Rio from the outlying areas. With another phase of modernization, around the turn of the twentieth century, the South Zone began new prominence along the coast. Any wealthy establishments to the north were forced out by the increased expansion of industry and headed to the small fishing villages along the Atlantic coast. The first modern skyscrapers began to go up in the Central Zone and and new areas were being developed. While this modernization occurred, great disparities in wealth began to emerge and the first favelas showed up along the hillsides. With the demolition of the older, lower income housing to make way for the modern skyscraper, the poor were forced out and formed squatter villages away from the city. There were three monumental changes that occurred in the beginning of the twentieth century. They continued after World War II and changed the urban geography of the city.
New DVD: On Location: Rio de Janeiro 
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