Rio de Janeiro City Guide

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Check out The Scene's recommendations for the Brazilian city and send us your ideas and suggestions below.

SEE: Head for the famous beach at Copacabana to soak up the sights and sounds of old Rio. The area may have faded since its days as a fashionable hangout for the Hollywood elite but it's still an impressive sweep of sand, though younger sun worshippers these days prefer Ipanema and Leblon. The beach isn't the only natural wonder that Rio boasts. The Tijuca Forest is the world's largest urban forest, covering more than 100 square kilometers, and a complete rainforest in a city, with waterfalls and wildlife. Its most recognizable landmark, staring down over the city below, is the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado, a hilltop that towers more than 700 meters above the city. For another spectacular view, take the cable car (which featured in the James Bond movie "Moonraker") to the top of Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf Mountain). Another classic Rio journey is a ride in the wooden tram, known locally as the Bonde, from the city center to the Santa Teresa neighborhood. It's also worth taking a ferry across to Niteroi on the opposite side Guanabara Bay to visit the Oscar Niemeyer-designed Museu de Arte Contemporanea. For a more quirky exhibition try the Museo Carmen Miranda, which celebrates the Brazilian singer who became a Hollywood star and a gay icon. There are around 800 favelas in and around Rio, some controlled by the police, some controlled by drug gangs. Most of them are too dangerous to visit (including the infamous Cidade de Deus) but it is possible to arrange tours of some of them by jeep. Alternatively there are walking tours of the Rochina favela, close to Ipamena, with all profits raised funding local projects. See http://www.favelatourismworkshop.com/ for details. A Rio experience not to be missed is a football match at the world's most famous stadium, the Maracana. Built to host the 1950 World Cup (which Brazil lost to Uruguay -- still considered a national disaster), it's now a crumbling wreck that is due to be re-developed. But it still holds almost 200,000 people (though crowds rarely approach that) and any Carioca derby (preferably involving Flamengo, Brazil's most popular club) shouldn't be missed.

BE SEEN: The beachfront in Zona Sul is where rich and poor come to hang out, revealing Rio at its most democratic. On Sundays the road that runs along the front is closed as Cariocas come out to parade in their Speedos and bikinis. These days Ipanema has surpassed Copacabana as the preferred enclave of the rich and famous. The Garota de Ipanema (Rua Vinicius de Moraes) may be the bar where the famous "Girl from Ipanema" was written but has little else to offer so instead check out Rua Visconda Piraji, one block away from the beach which has plenty of bars and boutiques. Stop off between Ipanema and Copacabana at the busy Bar Bracaranse (Rua Jose Linhares) or, if you can afford it, sip a caiparinha by the pool at the Copacabana Palace Hotel, the original beachfront hotel that once hosted Hollywood stars and European royalty. The liveliest area in Rio from Thursday to Saturday is the Lapa district, famous for its street parties and samba and choro venues. For Brazilian music, try Seu Jorge's favorite musical hangout Carioca de Gema (Rua Mem de Sa), Circo Voador (Rua dos Arcos), which regularly features local bands or the Platform, Rio's original bossa nova nightclub. If you're bored of bossa nova and samba, there's plenty of venues with a more international outlook. Dama de Ferro (Rua Vinicius de Moraes) offers alternative and electro, while 00 (Av Padre Leonel Franca) plays house music and drum and bass and serves sushi during the day and Bip Bip (Rua Almirante Goncalves) is an underground favorite. Finally, don't leave Rio without learning how to mix a real Carioca caipirinha at the Academia da Cachaca (Rua Conde de Bernadotte), which has more than 500 varieties of cachaca to choose from.

EAT: Brazil is a meat-lover's idea of paradise, with the barbecue or churrasco a national obsession. Churrascurias will usually operate on a rodizio (eat all you can) basis, with the meat cooked on long skewers and sliced straight onto your plate. Marius Leme (Avenida Atlantica) is considered one of the best, with two restaurants side by side offering meat and seafood. Other popular options include Barra Grill (Avenida Ministro Ivan Lins) and Esplanada Grill (Rua Barao da Torre). Another national dish to be sampled is feijoada, a heavy lunchtime stew that includes pork, beef, rice and beans. Try Casa da Feijoada (Rua Prudente de Morais), and then take a post-prandial nap on Ipanema beach. To sample how Brazilian cuisine has been influenced by the country's African heritage, check out Yoruba (Rua Arnaldo Quintela), which specializes in West African cooking. Not surprisingly, Rio is well stocked with seafood restaurants. The Italian-themed Don Camillo (Avenida Atlantica) is among the most popular. Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan, so there's also lots of sushi to be enjoyed -- try Manekineko or Sushi Leblon (both Rua Dias Ferreira). Rio juice bars, which can be found on street corners all over the city, are colourful celebrations of fruits you've probably never heard of, like acerola, caqui or mamao. One to try is acai, a purple Amazonian fruit high in antioxidants that is said to be good for both energy and sex drive.

Health care debate tests pragmatism of politics Amid conflicting and heated rhetoric, a political pragmatism began to emerge Sunday as senators prepared for a debate on a sweeping Democratic health care bill.

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