RIO DE JANEIRO A Cidade Maravilhosa’ or ‘The Marvelous City’

RIO DE JANEIRO A Cidade Maravilhosa’ or ‘The Marvelous City’

Published: 09/24/2009 by Michelle Riaz

Rio de Janeiro, or ‘Rio’ as it is typically known, is probably the most famous of all South American cities and the second largest city in Brazil. Marvelous as it is, Rio is also one of the more violent cities in the world with a number of serious social issues, not the least of which is the fact that many of Rio’s worst slums are immediately adjacent to the wealthier portions of the city, and this gives rise to a certain level of crime.

Notwithstanding that fact, there are indeed a multitude of reasons to visit Rio. For instance, the newest tourist attraction in Rio is the City of Samba or ‘Cidade do Samba’ in the port district. This particular area was chosen because it is considered to be sacred ground, and is destined to become a true production center of many forms of Brazilian art, as well as bringing African dance and music to merge with Brazilian cultural traditions.

A visit to Rio would not be complete, however, without a trip to Sugarloaf Mountain ‘Pão de Açúcar’, so named because of the similarity between its shape and the typical shape of a refined loaf of sugar. The well-known Sugar Loaf cable car is considered to be one of the safest in the world, and daily takes as many as 3,000 people to Sugarloaf Mountain.

Admittedly memorialized by the song, ‘The Girl From Ipanema’, one of the most famous mingling hotspots in Rio de Janeiro is the Ipanema neighborhood, which is filled with world-class restaurants, shops, and cafes. The area is known for its highly-sophisticated elegance and social amenities. On Sundays, the road nearest the beach is closed so that locals and tourists alike can frolic and ride bikes, skateboards, or simply stroll along the ocean. In fact, the Travel Channel listed Ipanema Beach as the sexiest beach in the world. Among other interesting facets, there is also an area of Ipanema Beach known as the “gay beach” near Rua Farme de Amoedo, which is a well-known gay-friendly spot. Posto Nove is yet another highly popular stretch of sand in the Ipanema Beach area, where some of the younger cariocas, as the citizens of Rio are called, like to hang out. While you’re at Ipanema, you’ve got to try some of the Brazilian Cachaça which is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane, a sort of rum that is produced directly from cane juice. It is a frequent ingredient in many of the local tropical drinks, and can be quite potent (with alcohol content ranging from 38% to as much as 80%).

Rio de Janeiro even boasts one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Christ the Redeemer, a statue of Jesus Christ which is considered to be the largest art deco statue in the world. It is a true image of the cariocas’ faith and is readily accessed through its three panoramic elevators.

Rio also has the world’s largest urban forest, Tijuca Forest, which is actually a hand-planted rainforest. It was reforested in the middle 19th Century as a pioneer replanting for all of Latin America following years of intense deforesting by the coffee plantations. Tijuca Forest was transformed into a forest with a leisure area and a park for public use, including many exotic species, with bridges, fountains, lakes and other leisure areas.

This is only a brief sampling of the many delights that Rio has to offer, and there are many more to be discovered by the interested traveler.