Mario Testino de Janeiro - A Book about Rio

Fell in Love with Rio de Janeiro and want to buy something to remember this sexy city?
Why not the super glamorous art book "Mario de Janeiro Testino", from worldwide famous fashion photographer and self declared Rio's lover, Mario Testino? "Mario de Janeiro" was published by Taschen and has a daring selection of pictures with the best of Rio and its natural beauty. The tropical landscape mixed with the hottest faces of Brazilian fashion - it's everything there: the sun, the beach, Ipanema and their free spirit citzens, creative and hot, it's a testimonial of love, it's a tempting invitation to Rio.

Enjoy Urca, the Cable Car, Rio de Janeiro and Little Joy

Hello,

Take a look at this music video with exclusive images of Rio de Janeiro. I bet after this video you will decide to book your holidays in Rio de Janeiro. Have you ever heard about "Little Joy"? It's a brazilian/american band formed in 2007 by Rodrigo Amarante (Los Hermano's singer - just a quick note: Los Hermanos is a brazilian indie rock iconic band), The Strokes drummer Frabrizio Moretti (also a "carioca") and Biki Shapiro - the charming lady also vocalist of the band.
Little Joy's music is very relaxed and one could say it's a mix of 60's indie brazilian Tropicalia style, as New Musical Express (NME) Magazine described the band, and contemporary indie rock, with a "summer"latin american flair. Recently, the brazilian drummer Fabrizio Moretti (still active with The Strokes) was replaced by ex The Moldy Peaches guitarist Jack Dishel. The video below is "Next Time Around", a good example of the indie-rock-tropicalia style. It was filmed in Rio de Janeiro, with locations in Urca, one of the most expansive and considered exclusive neighborhoods of the city, with the Sugar Loaf (another famous touristic landmark) and its cable car. If you visit Rio de Janeiro, a walk in Urca and "Praia Vermelha" (small beach in the same area called 'Red Beach') is unmissable. Then you have to take the Cable Car to reach the top of the Sugar Loaf mountain and enjoy the marvellous view of Rio de Janeiro - from the best point for a complete sightseeing of the city.

Arpoador: Rio de Janeiro Video

Hi guys,

Check this video I just found on YouTube about Arpoador... It basically shows the South Zone beach coast from a very nice point of view. You can feel like walking in Rio de Janeiro in this video. Arpoador is the boarder between Copacabana beach and Ipanema beach. The landmark is a group of rocks from where you can see Ipanema and Leblon beach. During the summer, Arpoador is famous as a special place to enjoy the sunset. 'Cariocas' like to watch the sunset until the the end and then applaud the natural spectacle. Awesome!

Rio de Janeiro Traditional Music: Jongo

In this video, Marisa Monte, a popular brazilian singer (from Rio de Janeiro) performs "Vide Gal" with Carlinhos Brown - a star of brazilian popular music, composer and percussionist. Here he plays Jongo in his traditional bongo/drum called Caxumbau. Jongo is a traditional brazilian-afro rhythm, very close to samba, which still can be found in few places in Rio, like "Morro da Serrinha". Jongo was born originally in Quilombos, hidden communities where black slaves refugees lived together during colonial times in Brazil. Nowdays Jongo celebrates the joy and strong cultural importance of afro heritage in Brazil.

Useful website

Hi,

Do you want to plan an unforgettable trip to Rio de Janeiro and don't know where to start? Vist the official Rio de Janeiro Tourism website, by clicking here.

If you want more local and less mainstream touristic tips for your trip, keep following our blog.

Tijuca's Forest: The largest urban forest in the world

Hi there,

The tip of the day for you who are visiting or planning to visit Rio de Janeiro is Tijuca's Forest. Tijuca's Forest is a big green and tropical forest inside the city of Rio de Janeiro, and just like Amazon is for Brazil, Tijuca Forest works like the "lungs" of the city, refreshing the air and the climate. Alongside with other important green areas like Botanical Garden (Jardim Botanico, which is more like a park), Tijuca's Forest is a must visit place. The Forest can be acessed by at leats three major routes, covering a large area, but i will talk here about the waterfall area, best known of Tijuca Rainforest.

How to get to Tijuca Forest - The forest is located in a high area of the city, in the north, between the residential borough of Tijuca and the beach/residential borough Barra. There aren't many public transport like buses to get there, and if you re located in the South Zone you might need a bit of commuting transport or a cab or a car.

The avialble buses are 233 and 234 departing from the central bus station (Rodoviaria/Alvorada) towards Barra da Tijuca, or 225 from Praca Maua (Maua Square) in the city centre towards Barra da Tijuca.

These are the common buses - they are not very comfortable and it might seem a long journey to get there with them.

You can easily find a touristic tour to Tijuca Forest in a jeep by visiting this website
http://tijuca-forest-tours.rioadventures.com/

Tijuca Forest was basic a largest Tropical Forest during the colonial centuries. After the exploitation of coffe and wood in the XIX century, trees were planted in a big project to recreate the forest. The work of slaves during the recreation has played an important role in the project. You will find old houses and architectural ruins along all the Tijuca Forest, what makes this visit even more special is the evidence of the Portuguese and colonial times in Rio de Janeiro. But the highlights of the Forest are the variety of specimens, the beauty of the tropical forest and its green and exuberant natural drama - its pervasive presence, always spreading all over the city, and the Waterfall - a magnificent view, surrounded by stones and tropical plants.

Once in Tijuca Forest, step into the little old bar/restaurant just beside the waterfall, for a quick beer or Guarana (soft drink). Enjoy the vintage and simple space and breath the fresh air around you.

Much more can be said about the Forets and its history, but you can find that in any guide. My tip is, in a hot day of summer, give a break to the beach and go for a walk or a tour in the forest, enjoy a lovely afternoon surrounded by the nature.

Now some pictures of Tijuca Forest just to give you a taste of its nature...

Best months to visit Rio.

Hi there, so you are planning to go to Rio? If you still don't know when is the best moment to visit Rio de Janeiro, here you can find some information and personal advice.

Summer goes officialy from the 20th of december to the 20th of march - the hottest month is usually january - when the temperature can hit up to 40 degrees celsius (and depending on where you are in the city, even more), but february is also very hot.
February is when the carnival happens but in some years it is celebrated in march, so confirm this information by visiting Brazilian Tourism Portal with official information about Brazil and the carnival party. http://www.braziltour.com/

If you are not looking for very hot summer, and is avoiding the crowds, why not visit Rio de Janeiro during it's "autumm" moment - which is also quite a warm season in the region of Brazil, with temperature varying between 20 and 30 degrees in Rio specially in April and may. The good thing about visiting the city this time is that you'll also find good and warm whether, you won't be joining the crowd of tourists and will benefit the low season prices - once the carnival is already finished you can plan you travel to Rio in a more affordable budget.

Personal brazilian advice:

Be carefull with the month of march, specially the last 2 weeks. It's well known among Rio de Janero's inhabitants that it can get very wet and rainy even with warm temperature. The tropical rain in Rio can be very annoying and usually it takes place in march. It's been specially severe in the last 5 years.

Overall, all cariocas are proud to hightlight we just have 2 seasons: summer and mid summer, once our winter goes very often to only 18th degrees and 25 - which for an european person, for example, is just like summer itself. So, plan you visit but remember that Rio is 85% of the time a warm place to visit, although some months you can find a lot of tropical rain.

Summary:

December - my favorite moment to be in Rio between the 20th to the New Years party in Copacabana. Lot's of parties happening in the city to celebrate the beginning of the summer, general holidays for students, the massive arrival of visitors, the whole city went magic and a bit crazy, plus the Christmas flair in a tropical and warm mood. Adorable!

January - blue sky, hot summer, go to the beach.

February - blue sky, hot summer, carnival.

March - hot, but can be and usually is very rainy.

April, may and june - low season, good whether not so hot, the city is a bit more empty, enjoy the truly "carioca" lifestyle without so much party hush - if you wish to relax, this is the perfect moment.