Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—sensuous, chaotic, sophisticated, open and friendly—is one of South America's gems. The Cidade Maravihosa (Marvelous City), as Brazilians call it, displays a unique blend of contrasts: old and new, tremendous wealth amid crushing poverty, an urban metropolis nestled around mountains and a huge forest.
And all of Rio de Janeiro is symbolically embraced in the outstretched arms of Cristo Redentor, the statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mountain.
Rio de Janeiro is transformed by elaborate parades impelled by the drums of samba schools during Carnival Rio, the four-day holiday that takes place just before Lent in February or early March.
But if the buzz of the city becomes too much—during Carnival or otherwise—there's always an easy escape: to the beautiful coast or to the lush Tijuca Forest that surrounds Rio de Janeiro's mountainous slopes, where you can hike, bike or jump under a waterfall.
