The city of Rio de Janeiro was founded in 1565 and, still today, it maintains and preserves its unique and beautiful Portuguese colonial architecture. This beautiful and historic city is also considered on of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World, with its enormous statue: Christ the Redeemer.
Rio de Janeiro boasts the largest urban forest in the world: the TIJUCA FOREST, which covers an area of 3,300 hectares of the original "Mata Atlantica". Built at the foot of a long mountain range, the city of Rio nestles between the mountains and the ocean. The "cariocas", as the native inhabitants are known, love their beaches and go there to meet their friends.
The Rio Carnaval is the greatest popular festival in all Brazil. For four days and nights thousands of people congregate in the streets to celebrate, dancing samba. Carnaval is the most famous holiday in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions. The country stops completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities to celebrate the beginning of the Catholic Lent.
In Rio, the sporting activity is not restricted to football, the great Brazilian passion, which you'll find being played both on the beach and on the pitches.You 'll also find volleyball, motor-racing, horse-racing, canoeing, surfing, windsurfing, jet-skiing, water-skiing, tennis, golf, swimming, yatching, hand-gliding and para-gliding .All these sports find ideal conditions in Rio's geographical location. That is why Rio will host the WORLD SOCCER CUP and the OLYMPIADS in 2014 and 2016.
