Rio de Janeiro (State)

Travel Guide South America Brazil Rio de Janeiro

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Introduction

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Geography

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Cities

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Sights and Activities

Ilha Grande

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Ilha Grande is an island off the coast of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro and is a popular place to enjoy both lush Atlantic rainforests as well as tropical beaches. Apart from relaxing in a hammock at your accommodation or at a beach, the island has around 150 kilometres of hiking trails between the villages and across the rainforest. There is wide range of animals, some of which you might spot during hiking, including endangered ones like the brown howler monkey, the red-browed Amazon parrot and the maned sloth.

Niterói Contemporary Art Museum

Niemeyer´s Contemporary Art Museum in Niteroi

The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum is located in the city of Niterói. The city can be reached by a bridge from Rio de Janeiro. It was completed and opened in 1996 and the design of the museum is by the famous Oscar Niemeyer. The shape of the museum resembles a saucer/UFO. From the viewing gallery you can see Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro and the Sugarloaf Mountain. For more information, visit the official Museum website.

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Events and Festivals

Rio de Janeiro Carnival

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is the greatest partiy on Earth. And this partying tradition goes a long way back: the first carnivals in Rio were celebrated in 1723. The Rio de Janeiro Carnival, or "Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro" for locals, is held four days before Ash Wednesday, usually in February, but sometimes as early as late January or late as early March (like in 2011). Quite different to the European celebrations due to its mixed African, Native, Portuguese, German and other European countries elements, Carnival in Brazil has also variations by region. In the southeast (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo), Carnival focuses on organised parades. This carnival parades are carried out by "samba schools" (or, in Portuguese again, "escolas do samba") which compete in the "sambodromo". In this kind of Carnival only affiliates can parade. However, on smaller cities, since there are no large public events but the municipalities promote celebrations in clubs or beaches. Since the 1930s the parade traditionally goes from Sunday evening until early morning Monday in the Sambadrome, which is a large structure that includes several buildings forming a large open circle and covers 700 metres of Marquês de Sapucaí Street, converted into a permanent parade ground. The "Sambódromo", as it is called in Portuguese has bleachers for spectators on both sides and it can seat ninety thousand people.

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