Rio de Janeiro City Guide - $section

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Mention Rio to anyone and immediately the name evokes images of sultry street parades, the Sugarloaf Mountain, Corcovado Christ statue, and the 'itsy-bitsy teeny weeny' bikinis on the beach at Ipanema. The exuberant cultural capital of Brazil is tucked between the mountains and the sea and is endowed with a natural beauty that ranges from the beaches to the mountain peaks. It also contains the biggest urban forest in the world, the Tijuca Forest, which was completely replanted during the second half of the 19th century.

The city throbs to the infectious beat of Brazilian music, the choro, the samba and the bossa nova, and is the main source of Brazil's national culture. Its annual carnival, known simply as Carnaval, draws together the population of the city (known as the 'Cariocas') ranging from rich to very poor who take to the streets for the world's largest samba parade on the Sambodromo.

The city is capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro, which encompasses most of Brazil's major tourist attractions.

Rio is a never-ending story made up of 150 districts each characterised by unique features, like Santa Teresa, which is reached by taking an old tram across an ancient aqueduct called Arcos da Lapa. In the central city area Rio boasts historic monuments and public buildings like the Municipal Theatre, the National Museum of Fine Art, the Itamaraty Palace, the National History Museum and the National Library. There are also beautiful examples of religious architecture such as the Sao Bento Monastery. No matter how long you spend exploring the city, it will always deliver new surprises.

To the north of the city is the Lakes region, which has more than 62 miles (100km) of beaches and sea-water lagoons and is the site of the main tourist resorts of Búzios, Cabo Frio, Arrial do Cabo, Rio das Ostras, Maricá and Saquarema.