Rio de Janeiro is the second major city in Brazil and was its capital from 1763 to 1960, when Brasília was created. The city was founded by Portuguese colonists in the mid 1500s and became the port for the shipment of gold from the inland mining areas.
Rio de Janeiro, in full Cidade de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, byname Rio, city and port, capital of the estado (state) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean, in the southeastern part of the tropical zone of South America, and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most beautiful and interesting urban centres. Although Rio de Janeiro continues to be the preeminent icon of Brazil in the eyes of many in the world, in reality its location, architecture, inhabitants, and lifestyle make it highly unique when compared with other Brazilian cities, especially the country’s capital of Brasília or the much larger city of São Paulo. The former is a much smaller city dating back only to the 1960s, while the latter is a huge, sprawling commercial and manufacturing centre with none of Rio’s spectacular natural beauty or captivating charm. Unlike Rio, both are located on flat interior plateaus.
Rio de Janeiro became the colonial capital in 1763 and was the capital of independent Brazil from 1822 until 1960, when the national capital was moved to the new city of Brasília; the territory constituting the former Federal District was converted into Guanabara state, which formed an enclave in Rio de Janeiro state. In March 1975 the two states were fused as the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Throughout its history, Rio has seemed aware of its physical assets - the soaring mountains behind it, Sugarloaf towering above its harbor, and its long crescent beaches that are its prime tourist attractions - and has enhanced that landscape with distinguished buildings from each era of its history and with a generous supply of urban parks and open spaces. Discover the best the city has to offer with our list of the top attractions in Rio de Janeiro.
Rio de Janeiro's best-known landmark is the rock peak of Sugarloaf, towering 394 meters above the harbor. It sits on a point of land that projects out into the bay and wraps around its harbor, and is connected to the city by a low strip of land.
You can take a cable car from Praça General Tibúrcio to the top of the Morro da Urca, a lower peak from which a second cableway runs to the summit of the Sugarloaf. From here, you can see the entire mountainous coast that rings the bay and its islands.
Below, the 100-meter Praia da Urca beach is near the location of Rio's original nucleus, between the Morro Cara de Cão and the Sugarloaf. On Cara de Cão are three forts of which the 16th-century, star-shaped Fort São João is open to the public.