Monday 7 March 2016

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is one city that has always lived up to its nickname as the Marvelous City. There are thousands of reasons why a visit to Rio ought to be on every traveler’s agenda. The regions’ wonderful landmarks and rich culture need to be experienced at least once in a life time.

With its white sandy beaches, soaring mountains and picturesque harbor, it’s no wonder that Rio de Janeiro is known as the “cidade maravilhosa”, or marvelous city. Facing the South Atlantic coast, the second-largest city in Brazil is blessed with one of the most beautiful natural settings for a metropolis in the world. The dazzling landscape is just one of the reasons that visitors flock to Rio. During carnival season, the streets fill with music and ornately costumed dancers, attracting revelers from all over the globe. At any time of year, visitors won’t want to miss the top tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro's setting between the mountains and the sea is so spectacular that UNESCO cited "the staggeringly beautiful location for one of the world's biggest cities" in naming Rio a World Heritage Site. UNESCO's accolades weren't just for the natural setting but also for the urban cultural landscape and the mix of architecture and planned green space that characterized the city's growth.

Rio de Janeiro is the second major city in Brazil and was its capital from 1763 to 1960, when Brasília was created. The city was founded by Portuguese colonists in the mid 1500s and became the port for the shipment of gold from the inland mining areas. Throughout its history, Rio has seemed aware of its physical assets - the soaring mountains behind it, Sugar Loaf towering above its harbor, and its long crescent beaches that are its prime tourist attractions - and has enhanced that landscape with distinguished buildings from each era of its history and with a generous supply of urban parks and open spaces.


Sights in Rio de Janeiro

                                                Christ the Redeemer

The giant statue of Christ overlooking the city from the 709-meter summit of Corcovado is almost as widely recognized a symbol of Rio as the distinctive shape of Sugar Loaf. The world-famous landmark was erected between 1922 and 1931, financed almost entirely by contributions from Brazilian Catholics.The Art Deco statue was created by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with the French engineer Albert Caquot. Made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, the figure itself is 30 meters tall with arms stretching 28 meters; it weighs 635 metric tons. Inside its eight-meter-high base is a chapel, where it's not uncommon to find weddings and baptisms taking place.

                               Tijuca National Park

Covering some 32 km², Parque Nacional da Tijuca is the world’s largest urban forest in the city of Rio de Janeiro.One of the largest urban forest in the world, the Tijuca National Park covers a huge area of a mostly mountainous landscape. Visitors can hike to Rio’s highest peak, the Pico da Tijuca, to enjoy expansive views of Guanabara Bay and the city below. Nearly destroyed in the early 1800s by encroaching coffee plantations, much of the forest was replanted by hand in the latter half of the century with as many as nine million trees. Attractions include the Mayrink Chapel, which has murals painted by the famed Brazilian neo-realism painter Cândido Portinari, and the tumbling 100-foot Cascatinha Waterfall.

                                       Copacabana

Few cities are blessed with a beautiful sand beach at its heart, let alone one that stretches four kilometers along one entire side of its downtown.Separated from Ipanema to the west by surfer-favored Arpoador beach, Copacabana has a more active vibe than its equally famous neighbor. Rio locals, called “cariocas,” always seem to have a game of soccer or volleyball in play, and vendors vociferously hawk their drinks and snacks from the kiosks that line the beach.

                                    Escadaria Selarón 

One of Rio's newest tourist attractions was begun in 1990 by Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón as his gift to the Brazilian people. Until his death in 2013, he covered a long flight of steps in front of his house with mosaics made of tiles, pottery, and mirrors, many in blue, green, and yellow - colors of the Brazilian flag.Now pieces from more than 60 countries are represented in the 250 steps, which cover 125 meters of stairs. The steps are a popular film location and were featured in Rio's 2016 Olympic bid video.

                                        Ipanema  

The beach made famous in the bossa nova song “The Girl from Ipanema” in the 1960s remains one of Rio’s most popular tourist spots today.


                                   Maracana Stadium

Football (or soccer) is by far the most important sport in Brazil and the Maracanã Stadium is one of Rio’s most important landmarks.

Climate
In inland areas of the city, temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) are common during the summer, though rarely for long periods, while maximum temperatures above 27 °C (81 °F) can occur on a monthly basis.
Along the coast, the breeze, blowing onshore and offshore, moderates the temperature.Average annual temperature of the sea is 23–24 °C (73–75 °F), from 22 °C (72 °F) in the period July–October to 26 °C (79 °F) in February and March.


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