Rio Details

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil. It is well known around the world for its landmarks such as Copacabana beach.

Sugarloaf mountain and its massive Rio carnival are instantly recognisable symbols of this stunning beach culture city it is not surprising that it has the largest international tourism trade in Brazil and is one of the ‘must see’ spots in south America.

Everything about this city screams exotic, from its flamboyant Samba Schools to its wild nightclubs, opulent wealth and even its infamous favelas are an attraction to millions from around the world each year.

Though it is one of the main economic, cultural and financial cities of the country, Rio de Janeiro is also internationally known for its many scenic and cultural icons such as the Sugar Loaf, and the statue of Christ the Redeemer (one of the seven wonders of the modern world).

Also popular are the beaches of the neighborhoods of Copacabana, Ipanema and Barra da Tijuca (among others). The city boasts the Estadio do Maracana, the Olympic Stadium, Joao Havelange, the Tijuca Forest, the Quinta da Boa Vista, the island of Paqueta, New Year’s Eve in Copacabana and Carnival.

Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP of the country (and the 30th largest in the world), estimated at around U.S. $ 128 billion (2006). It is the home of two major Brazilian companies – Petrobras and Vale.

These and other major oil and telephone companies in Brazil, represent more than the conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations.

Complimented by a large number of universities and institutes, it is the second largest center for research and development of Brazil, responsible for 17% of scientific production – according to data of 2005.

Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil in 1763, capital of the Portuguese Empire at the time of the invasion of Napoleon, the capital of the Empire of Brazil, and capital of the Republic until the inauguration of Brasilia in the 1960s.

Known as the Marvelous City, Rio de Janeiro was organized on Guanabara Bay, the bay being discovered by Portuguese explorer Gaspar de Lemos on January 1, 1502.

While asserting that the name Rio de Janeiro was chosen because of the Portuguese belief that the bay was the mouth of a river, indeed, at the time, there was no distinction in nomenclature between rivers, bays and bogs. All bodies of water were called rivers, and so the pond was properly designated as a river.