The city of Rio de Janeiro, was originally founded as São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro (Saint Sebastian of the January River in Spanish), and is currently popularly known as Rio. It is located in the southeast of Brazil.
On New Year's Day 1502 ("janeiro" means January) the Portuguese navigator Gaspar de Lemos sailed with his ship into a bay whose native name is still Guanabara today. In the Portuguese language of the time, the bays were also called "rivers" or "rías", hence the name Rio de Janeiro (January River).
It was the capital of the Empire of Brazil since 1822, when the nation declared its independence from Portugal and kept that status until the inauguration of Brasilia in 1960.
It is the second most populous city in Brazil, with a lot of international tourism traffic.
Among the main attractions we can mention the Sugar Loaf, the statue of Christ the Redeemer (one of the seven wonders of the modern world), the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, the Maracanã stadium, the Tijuca National Park (the largest urban forest in the world), the Quinta da Boa Vista, the island of Paquetá, and many more attractions to discover.
Rio de Janeiro is divided into 34 administrative regions, which include 160 neighborhoods in total.
In the South zone are the best known neighborhoods, such as Copacabana, Ipanema, Botafogo, Flamengo, Leme, Leblon, Lagoa. In Cosme Velho is the Ferro da Corcovado station, for the train that leads to Christ the Redeemer. In Urca is the Pan de Azúcar hill.
In the western area, there is the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood where the Maria Lenk Aquatic Park is located.
In the North zone, there are the soccer stadiums, which are the Maracanã Stadium (Maracanã neighborhood), the Engenhão Stadium (the Engenho de Inside neighborhood) and the São Januário Stadium (in São Cristóvão).
See more about the history of Río de Janeiro
See also information on Boa Vista.
