Rio, the place to be in! Ever had the amazingly breathtaking Brazilian holiday destination on your itinerary? If you haven’t gone there as yet, its time. Nestled between sea and mountains, Rio de Janeiro encompasses all that is  enchanting. Morros, the famous hills characteristic of its morphology, rise from the earth and water as a disorder that one might want to study. With its golden beaches, its magnificent views and  stunning geography, it is clear that the Cariocas are particularly proud of their city.

When, in January 1502, the Portuguese reached the Bay of Guanabara, they discovered the mouth of a river, worth its name – Rio de Janeiro (Rivière of January). When the city was founded in 1565, the river was named in honor of the king of Portugal, Sebastian 1, São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro.

At the time of the invasion of Portugal by Napoleon in 1807, the Portuguese royal family stand at Rio de Janeiro. The city will become, for a moment, the capital of the Portuguese and the only European capital outside the continent in history. In 1960, Brasilia, the new city was created from scratch in the middle of the Amazon.

Today, Rio de Janeiro is still the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro (south-eastern Brazil) as well as the cultural capital of the country. With a population of over six million inhabitants, it is the largest city in Brazil after Sao Paulo.

For over a century, migration from the countryside to the city led to the creation of the favelas (slums) hanging, overlapping and challenging space, from the heights of Morros Rio de Janeiro. The city reflects the main duality of Brazil, between wealth and poverty.

Rio de Janeiro is the first tourist destination in South America. Though it offers beautiful colonial buildings and neighborhoods to visit, travelers rush here to enjoy the lifestyle that springs along  the beaches, the Centro (downtown city), the Carnival, the sound of samba and the caipirinha (Brazilian drink water based spirits sugar and lime).