Things to do in Mage

Gleaming hotels and forested hills line the perfectly curved 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) stretch of Copacabana Beach, one of the most famous beaches in the world. Abutting one of Brazil’s highest density residential areas, this beach is nearly always filled to capacity, but that’s part of its charm. Swim in the cool waters of the Atlantic amongst thousands of other visitors, join in a game of soccer on the sand or just sit back on a beach chair and order snacks from a beach vendor and watch the passing parade.

Corcovado rises majestically out of the dense green rainforest that makes up Tijuca National Park, situated just west of central Rio. As the world’s largest urban forest, the national park itself is breathtaking, as is the 710-metre high granite mountain. It is the open arms of the Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue at the mountain’s summit, however, that welcomes the 2 million visitors that travel here every year. Open to the public since 1931, the statue is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and is an essential part of any trip to Rio.

When you visit Rio, set a day aside to spend on the beach. Vendors wander along the sand selling fresh coconut, beer and cachaca – Brazil’s national drink and an essential component of the caipirinha cocktail. Although Ipanema Beach is less busy than adjacent Copacabana, it is an excellent place to sip a drink and people watch. Ipanema is one of the most chic – and therefore most expensive – places in Brazil.

No arena is more central to the history of Brazilian soccer than Maracanã Stadium. The location of the final matches in both of Brazil’s FIFA World Cups, this stadium has hosted all the great names in Brazilian soccer. Watch one of Rio de Janeiro’s “Big Four” teams play a game, or take a guided tour of this iconic stadium and you’ll soon understand just how large soccer looms in the Brazilian psyche.

Sugarloaf Mountain is named after the mounds of sugar produced by traders in the 16th century, during the boom of Brazil’s sugar cane industry. The mountain’s cone-like shape resembles the sugar loaves, fashioned before sugar was offered in the granulated or cube forms we know today. The mountain is, in fact, made of granite, and stretches 396 metres into the air.