Travel Reports » City of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

Rio de Janeiro has over 6 million inhabitants and is the second largest city in Brazil after São Paulo. The name means “River of January” and is based on a mistake made by the navigator Gaspar de Lemos, who discovered the bay on January 1, 1502 and mistook it for the mouth of a large river. Rio’s landmarks include Sugarloaf Mountain, the 38-meter high statue of Christ at the top of Corcovado, and the beach of the Copacabana neighborhood, considered one of the most famous in the world. The city is also famous for the annual Rio Carnival. The unique landscape around Rio de Janeiro (Carioca landscapes between mountains and sea) is part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 2012. Rio de Janeiro represents an “extraordinary fusion” of man-made and natural beauty. UNESCO will also designate the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro as the World Capital of Architecture in 2020 – the first metropolis ever to receive this title.