| Want to know what the best places to visit in Rio | | | | Urca (Urca Hill) and, from there, to the top of |
| are? | | | | Sugarloaf. The ride takes less than 20 minutes but |
| You do if you are planning a vacation to Rio de | | | | offers a view of Rio that you will never forget. |
| Janeiro Brazil. You are investing your hard-earned | | | | 3. Maracana Stadium |
| money in airfare and accommodations. You will have | | | | Maracana Stadium is one of the largest football |
| a limited amount of time in Rio. And you want to | | | | (soccer) stadiums in the world. It was the location of |
| make sure your Brazil vacation is a memorable | | | | the World Cup Final of 1950 when Brazil lost to |
| experience. | | | | Uruguay before a crowd of 199,954. What is more |
| Choosing which places to visit in Rio can be a | | | | impressive than the stadium itself is the enthusiasm |
| stressful experience. There is so much to do in the | | | | of the Brazilian football fans. Don't just visit the |
| Marvelous City. I fully understand what you are | | | | stadium, visit Maracana to watch a soccer match. |
| facing. My vacation to Rio only lasted a week. After | | | | 4. Tijuca National Park (Parque Nacional da Tijuca) |
| that experience, I spent 18 years living in Brazil. | | | | One of the things that make Rio de Janeiro so |
| My recommendations for the best places to visit in | | | | beautiful is the vast amount of nature that is part of |
| Rio. | | | | this major urban center. The nearly 4,000-acre Tijuca |
| 1. Copacabana Beach | | | | National Park is the largest city-surrounded urban |
| Copacabana beach is one of the most famous | | | | forest in the world. Within minutes, you can leave the |
| beaches of Brazil. The nearly three kilometers of | | | | sprawling concrete jungle of Rio and visit waterfalls, |
| sandy beach looks out at the Guanabara Bay and | | | | grottos, lakes and other wonders of nature. |
| offers a spectacular view of Sugarloaf Mountain. A | | | | 5. Corcovado |
| fort at each end of the beach provides tourist with | | | | Corcovado, which means "hunchback" in Portuguese, |
| an opportunity to get to know a little more of the | | | | is a 710-meter granite peak located in the Tijuca |
| history of both the city of Rio de Janeiro and the | | | | Florest. Atop the peak is the 38-meter Christ the |
| country of Brazil. | | | | Redeemer Statue with arms outstretched in direction |
| 2. Sugarloaf Hill (Pao de Acucar) | | | | of the city of Rio. The statue was recently named |
| Sugarloaf Hill is a quartz and granite peak that rises | | | | one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. You |
| up from the mouth of Guanabara Bay to a height of | | | | can catch an electric train to ride to the top. A |
| 396 meters. A glass-paneled cable car will transport | | | | lookout platform allows you to get a breathtaking |
| you from Praia Vermelha (Red Beach) to Morro da | | | | view of the city. |