Rio de Janeiro: once the capital of the Portuguese Empire and now the second biggest city in Brazil, Rio is a bustling city of culture, history and industry. Some of the city’s most regarded attractions include its mountainous views, world-renowned carnival and immense beaches. As one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most visited cities, there is no end to the atmosphere here and you will find a practically endless list of things to do on your visit. 

The Rio Carnival is the largest carnival event in the world, held annually before Lent. Floats are created by a select group of Samva schools, given a year to prepare their representation of shared theme. Competition between schools is intense, each designing  colourful clothing for their troop, to compliment dramatic and elaborate floats to support their performances. The result is a cocktail of vibrant colours which spread down the street stage called Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí. Other street performances often occur throughout the city at this time too, though they cannot match the investment afforded to the main competing floats. 

Overlooking the city is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World: Christ the Redeemer – a 30 m tall statue of Jesus situated at the top of Corcovado Mountain. From here, it is easy to see Copacabana Beach, Ipanema and Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon as you look down from 2,300 feet (700 m) above the city.

A huge part of peoples’ lives in Rio and more widely in Brazil is football. Brazil has won 5 world cups and a gold medal in the 2016 Olympics which took place in Brazil. The Maracanã Stadium, the largest stadium in Brazil, was opened in 1950 to host the World Cup. It is the 3rd largest stadium in South America with a capacity of over 73,000 (reduced from its highest ever capacity of almost 200,000 spectators in 1963). This stadium hosts Rio’s main football teams but is also used in concerts and other sporting events. 

Click on the links below for some of the ways AQUA-FIRMA can immerse you in what Brazil’s most iconic city has to offer.