About Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro is the "Marvelous City" (Cidade Maravilhosa), a place where nature and urbanity collide in spectacular fashion. Jungle-clad mountains plunge directly into the Atlantic Ocean, with the city squeezed into the valleys and scalloped edges between them. It is a city of samba, soccer, and sun, defined by a laid-back hedonism and a dramatic social divide. The statue of Christ the Redeemer stands atop Corcovado with open arms, embracing the chaos and beauty below.
Satellite imagery captures Rio's impossible topography: the granite monoliths of Sugarloaf and Corcovado rising like sentinels, the crescent curves of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, and the sprawling favelas climbing the hillsides like colorful ivy. The Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon sits like a mirror in the city's heart. It is a landscape that feels untamed, where the forest of Tijuca—the world's largest urban rainforest—reclaims the edges of the concrete.
Rio is a feeling—the "saudade" of a bossa nova song, the roar of the Maracanã stadium, the cold slap of a caipirinha on a hot day. It is a city that lives on the beach, the democratic stage where rich and poor meet to applaud the sunset. Despite its challenges, Rio vibrates with a joy for life that is palpable, a rhythm that moves universally from the hips and the heart.