Rio de Janeiro Natural Environment

one of the best places in brazil, but avoid the southern zone of rio. there you find poodles with strangely colored clothes, old ladies and lots of prostitutes. i really try and avoid copacabana and ipanema... it just sucks. the beaches are kind of interesting, worth a visit if you are really bored. but there are much better beaches out of town (barra da tijuca is one of them or head to any of the beaches outside niteroi).
best place for going out all week long: LAPA. used to be a bit off limits for travelers a few years ago, but now it is reasonably safe and hip. you will find something to do most nights, even when it rains.
if it rains, rio shuts down. if it rains and the temperature drops below 20 degrees, it appears as if a nuclear bomb had struck the city. nothing will work. nothing. best bet on days and nights like this? stay in bed and get ready for when the sun is shining again.

If you want to see the full glory of the world famous beaches in Rio, do _not_ go there in their winter time. Although it's still beautiful, sunny weather, the beaches will be practically deserted, which can be a bit disappointing.

rio is perfekt to see one of the most popular beaches of the world. the view from the nearly most famous thing build from stone is not comparing with anything else. the nightlife is great but to be carefull and the weather is just great in the beginning of the year.