Rio de Janeiro

This is a stunning, bustling city with lots to do and see. For a change of pace you can go on the cable car to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain, where the scenery will take your breath away and the day to day troubles of life are put aside for a while. You can then return to the city find a bar where everyone gets lost in the rhythm of the salsa and dances until the early hours of the morning.![tijuca-national-park-rio1215.

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil. It is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Until April 21, 1960 it was the capital city of Brazil. According to the 2000 Census, the city had 5,473,909 people, and an area of over 1,000 km2. In 2008 Eduardo Paes became Mayor. The city was started in 1565.

Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach, Sugar Loaf Mountain (in Portuguese, Pão de Açúcar), the statue of Christ the Redeemer (in Portuguese, Cristo Redentor), a harbor on Guanabara Bay, and Tom Jobim Airport are located in Rio de Janeiro. It has much commerce and many industries, especially textiles, food, chemicals, and metallurgy. Most of these industries are located in the northern and western suburbs of the city. Rio de Janeiro also has a small rural area, near the suburb of Campo Grande, where fruits and vegetables are grown.

In the city of Rio de Janeiro lies Tijuca National Park, created in 1961. This park contains some 33 km2, between the northern and the southern parts of the city. The district (in Portuguese, bairro) of Santa Tereza can be reached by taking an electric tram (in Portuguese, bonde) from central Rio de Janeiro (near Largo da Carioca subway station), crossing over the Arcos da Lapa, an aqueduct built during the colonial period to provide water to the city.