Even though Copacabana is a hot and modern destination, the borough itself has been around for over five hundred years. Old military forts dot both ends of the beach, marking the ending on the north and south end. Fort Duque de Caxias was constructed over two hundred years ago in 1779, and Fort Copacabana was completed in 1914. Originally named Sacopenapã, this gorgeous metropolitan stretch was renamed after the Patron Saint of Bolivia in the late 1800’s.

It’s not uncommon to see far more than a million revelers whenever a concert or celebratory party is being held. The ocean ranges from a light inviting blue to a mild green, and is always teeming with beautiful people in and around the water.

The people of Rio de Janeiro, known as the Cariocas, are warm and friendly to visitors and often teach tourists about Brazilian culture and life, though there are some people to avoid, as drugs and poverty are rife, because there is a constantly widening gap between the elite super-rich, and the utterly poor, even though Brazil’s economy is the tenth largest in the world. Nonetheless, even Rio has its share of ghettos, know as ‘favelas’ and it’s not recommended that you travel through them by yourself, Carioca and visitor alike.

Many notable bands and singers have held concerts, some impromptu, and others not, at Copacabana beach, attracting millions at a time! Such big name stars as The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart have brought massive crowds to this visually stunning beach, which is worth the trip time and time again.

While a beautiful site during the day, there are still safety concerns at night. Its best to stay off Copacabana at night, there is a very real and frequent danger of being robbed. Avenue Atlantica is also a place to avoid after dark, especially the area around “Help.”

Closer to Leme you can find  a few restaurants at those hours that are not filled with workers that are good for a late night drink and meal.

Arpoador has offered travelers some of the best surfing in Brazil; professional and amateur surfers alike flock from far and wide to try and tackle the large breakers, which are formed due to a large and jagged outcropping of rock. As with all big wave surfing, this is extremely dangerous, but also fun for those who know what they’re doing.

And Ipanema…regarded as the sexiest beach in the world; a beach so notoriously gorgeous that it inspired the famous song, “The Girl from Ipanema”, about a tanned beauty that would walk the beach each day, catching the eyes of men and women alike.

An attractive pull for many tourists are the Posto’s…Posto Nove in particular; popular for a minor scandal in which a Brazilian politician was photographed in skimpy underwear. Since then, Posto Nove is regarded as the hippest place in Ipanema for the younger crowds to congregate…and since such a relaxed atmosphere is present; gay and lesbian men, women, and the transgendered are happily and easily welcomed there.

Even though stunning Ipanema is the most expensive place to stay in Rio, it offers 5-star dining and hotels at a decent rate for out of country tourists. There are also many historical and religious attractions for people to visit, to get the natural flavor of Brazilian culture and art.

If you’re coming to Rio de Janeiro, there are many sights waiting to be seen, but none as promising and exciting as the beaches and bodies of Ipanema and Arpoador, two of Brazil’s finest jewels.

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Police invaded the Vila Cruzeiro and surrounding shantytowns early Wednesday, engaging in intense gun battles. Ten men died and one was arrested. Officers seized weapons including a grenade and an automatic rifle.

A police spokesman said at least four buses and 10 cars were burned in Rio’s poorer northern and western areas overnight — bringing the total to 22 attacks and 23 burned vehicles since Sunday.

One officers was reported hurt and one civilian was killed resisting armed robbers.

Schools in violence-struck areas saw low attendance Wednesday as worried parents kept children at home.

Gangsters armed with assault rifles and grenades used cars to block major thoroughfares, then robbed people snarled in the resulting gridlock and set some cars ablaze, sending black smoke billowing into the sky.

Security officials say the gang attacks aim to force authorities to stop a campaign to force gangs out of shantytowns where they have long ruled with impunity.

Thirteen shantytowns have been pacified over the past two years. The plan is to free 40 — a small fraction of Rio’s more than 1,000 slums — of gang control by the time of soccer’s 2014 World Cup.

Police said a note found on one of the burning buses Wednesday warned that if law enforcement continues to push drug dealers out of the slums, Rio won’t be able to host the Olympics.

Rio state Public Safety Director Jose Beltrame said security forces will not be deterred.

“This is not an easy task, but it is also an opportunity to build a better city,” Beltrame told Globo TV Wednesday. “We are not giving back one millimeter. Their threat shows we are on the right path. They’re being affected.”

Rio’s governor, Sergio Cabral, urged calm.

“What the bandits want is panic,” he told CBN radio Wednesday. “We are facing a desperate reaction from criminals. But we are not going to despair.”

Police have responded to the attacks by deploying riot officers on expressways into the city of 6 million people and sending patrols into more than 20 gang-controlled shantytowns to hunt down gang members they hold responsible for the attacks.

Violence has plagued Rio for decades, but most has been contained within the slums that cling to the hillsides. Now, however, at least a few of the recent attacks have spilled into middle class and wealthier neighborhoods closer to the beach, spreading fears that police are losing control of the city.

“The scary part is that now it’s getting close to us. Before the violence was always far away,” said Olga Silveira, who was milling around a plaza in the wealthy Ipanema neighborhood where police blew up a large, empty wooden box mistakenly feared to contain explosives. “Now we’re feeling it on our flesh. The criminals have discovered the power they have and they want to show it.”

Reginaldo Maciel, a police officer patrolling Ipanema, said the box started attracting attention around 7 a.m. Traffic was halted for several hours on a few streets around the plaza — causing havoc for morning commuters trying to travel through the neighborhood, whose streets are a traffic choke point.

There are many legends attached to Sugarloaf, and they are all varied and beautiful: such as the image of Saint Peter (or sometimes a stone guardian) can be seen on the side of the mountain, that the mountain is actually a giant, and many people readily point out the shadow that appears at 11am…a shadow that looks surprisingly like an Ibis, an important mythological tool to some cultures. Whatever the case may be, the local folklore is dazzling and delightful, and always ready to be told to a willing ear.

More than half a billion years old, Sugarloaf was formed thanks to high tectonic pressure and collision that forced the rock to jut upwards, creating the majestic view that this mountain represents today.

Nearly 2,000 feet tall and located in Guanabara Bay, this inspiring mountain, said to resemble a pressed loaf of sugar, can be scaled by hand or by scenic cable car. The cable cars of Sugarloaf Mountain were made famous thanks to an action/fighting sequence in a James Bond movie, which featured the cable route to the top of the mountain. The cable car system runs on twenty-minute intervals, ensuring a relatively short waiting period. The entire system is constantly maintained and upgraded to ensure the highest levels of safety for you and your family.

For the more adventurous tourist, a climb up Sugarloaf lends a sense of perspective to how vast this mountain really is. The dense tendrils of the remains of ancient rainforest rings Sugarloaf, made even more amazing since the mountain is considered an urban climb.

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The most stunning feature of Corcovado is the Christ The Redeemer statue, a 130-foot tall Art Deco style rendition of Jesus Christ, his arms held out in a beckoning, horizontal gesture. With construction complete in 1931, Christ The Redeemer is one of the tallest statues of its kind in the world today.

Some Brazilians had been trying to gain permission to construct a statue since the 1850’s, but it wasn’t actually commissioned until 1921, and Brazilian engineer, Heitor da Silva Costa was given the task of designing it, which was then sculpted by Paul Landowski, a Frenchman. Construction cost a quarter of a million dollars, and ever since, Christ The Redeemer has been an enduring testament to Rio’s rich catholic history and faith.

Rest assured that no visit to Rio is complete without a visit to Corcovado Mountain, and to Jesus Christ’s beautiful statue. In early 2006, a chapel was built beneath the statue itself, and now is being used for Catholic services for local and visiting members of the faith alike.

Christ The Redeemer is one of the “New Seven Wonders of The World” and I believe it should be touted as such – visually engaging and spiritually moving, this statue is a beacon of hope and peace to not only Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, but the world as well.

The Rock In Rio festivals are massive events, drawing millions of people and a diverse roster of local and international artists.

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