Why Rio de Janeiro?

Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas

Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas and Jockey Club

Cristo Redentor – Christ the Redeemer

End of day at the Lagoon

This is one of my favorite pics from Arpex, taken when I was living in Rio in 2009

Ipanema, Dois Irmãos and sunset

Many people ask me why I go so often to Rio de Janeiro. The answer is in fact quite simple: I fell in love with it during my first visit to Brasil in 2004. Why? Gosh there are a multitude of reasons, in fact I don’t even know where to start, so why not starting with the obvious?

• Rio has one of the most fantastic mixes of styles, colors, smells, landscapes, cultures, races that I have ever seen
• Rio is a perfect mix between the urban landscape and nature
• Rio offers a multitude of places to visit so you can spend a month there and still have to return to visit the so many places still to see
• Rio has beautiful beaches (crowded), cool waters, and chuveirinhos
• Rio has an amazing gastronomic offer, for all pockets, for all food restrictions, from food trucks, to botecos (small bars), cafes, restaurants, you name it
• I do not know of a better place to buy bikinis and gym clothing
• Rio has the best manicures in the universe (will tell a funny story later)
• The cariocas (either born in Rio or adopted) are funny, welcoming, easy to talk to. Well they are also terrible in getting on time, in giving directions and in speaking English, but those are minor comparing to the rest. You will never feel alone in Rio, be sure of that.
• As a solo traveler, Rio is not for me the intimidating place many paint it. It is dangerous, as dangerous as so many other cities in the world. You have to know how to behave, where to go and what precautions to take. Planning is crucial, knowing where to stay, the surroundings, helps a lot
• Rio has options to move around. From buses (for the faint hearted maybe not so nice), to metro, VLT, taxi, Uber, cabify, you name it
• Rio is amazing for shopping (yeah I love shopping)
• Rio is a delight for photography

Rio… is Rio, you have to go there to know what I mean, really.

Next post about Rio – how to get there, when to go, where to stay