The attractive city of Rio de Janeiro stands on the seaside in Brazil. It is famous for its huge Ipanema and Copacabana Beaches. It is the one of the most visited places in Brazil and draws numerous types of travelers to witness various aspects of the city.

Fact 1. Geographical information

Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is located near the Tropic of Cancer on the Atlantic coast in Brazil. The city is built in the western side of Guanabara Bay on an inlet and the entrance is marked by a 396m mountain called the Sugarloaf.  It has an area of 1,255km square being the second largest city in Brazil in South America. It is the third largest metropolitan city in Brazil also. Often the city is called Rio and is famous for innumerable landmarks for which it has been nicknamed “the Marvelous City”. Today its population is over 6.32 million. It occupies an important position in the global economy as well and hence Rio is referred to as a Global City too.  Sao Paulo is the most populated city in Brazil and Rio has about 4,557 people per sq km with the metropolitan city being occupied by more than 14,387,000 populations.

Fact 2 History of the city

In 1502 the Europeans landed in Rio de Janeiro first. It was an expedition team lead by a Portuguese Pedro Alvares Cabral. They reached the Guanabara Bay. After that, 63 years passed away when in 1565, 1^st March, the city was founded by the Portuguese officially. The city has seen many changes but had remained the capital of Brazil during Portuguese Colonial Era from 1763 to 1815 and the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal from 1815 to 1821. It was the center of the independent nation from 1822 to 1960.

Fact 3

Rio de Janeiro has a tropical savanna climate and enjoys the rains between December and March. The climate along the beaches is quite moderate due to the sea breeze from the Atlantic Ocean. But inside the city, the temperature rises to 100 degrees F especially during the summer months. People living in this awesome city experience sudden climatic changes because of the cold fronts that advance towards it from the north of the Antarctic region.

Fact 4

The large city is divided into four districts namely the Downtown where the historic Downtown Center and other historical landmarks stands and is also the financial center of Rio de Janeiro. The southern part is the tourists’ paradise with spread out beaches and is the commercial zone of the city. In the northern part, there is the world’s largest soccer stadium, Maracana Stadium. There are residential areas here too. The west zone is more industrialized as it stands far from the city center.

Fact 5.  The must-see places in Rio de Janeiro

Tourism is one of the largest industries of this amazing city. It has more than 2.82 million visitors every year. The places that one must not miss out during their visit to Rio de Janeiro are namely:

• Ipaneman, Copacabana, Leme, Barra, Praia do Pepino, Leblon Beaches.
• Travel to Corcovado by the miniature train through the rainforest.
• The largest soccer stadium Maracana Stadium offers 200,000 seating arrangements.
• Sugarloaf is beautiful for its panoramic views of the city, the beaches and Guanabara Bay
• Amsterdam Sauer Museum and H. Stern Museum display gems and precious stones.
• The Museum of the Indian contains pottery and handicrafts of tribal people.

Fact 6. The City of Carnivals

Rio de Janeiro is a cultural city and its yearly carnivals are known around the world. If you are fond of music and dance a visit to the Sambadrome and the Carnival Museum is a must.