Rio De Janeiro Travel Blog

Abundant alcohol fuels the bloco party spirit Rio without carnival would be like New York without fashion, or Sydney without surfers. The city lives and breathes carnival, and this colorful, musical pageant of Dyionisian delights is totally in keeping with Rio de Janeiro’s hedonistic character. A...

Once again, Rio de Janeiro is gearing up to host one of the biggest New Year’s Eve parties on the planet. The city’s New Year’s celebrations are second only to carnival in terms of sheer unadulterated revelry, with the focal point of the celebrations being the legendary party on Copacabana...

Forget the sequinned bikinis and spangled headdresses of Carnival, if you want to look the part during Rio’s winter party season you’ll need to channel your inner country bumpkin. That’s because throughout the months of June, July, and August (the Brazilian winter), a country-themed party – complete...

Valentine’s Day may have been and gone, but here in Rio the residents are flexing their romantic muscles in preparation for the Brazilian version – Dia dos Namorados (Lovers’ Day). Heart-themed displays can be seen in shop fronts across the city, as romantic types Locals will be getting...

This weekend (May 20-22) will see Rio turn into a giant arty party venue as the city hosts the third annual Viradao Carioca event. As in 2010 and 2009, the mega-festival will see a completely free programme of music, dance, theater and cinema events take place across the festival, with the musical emphasis...

So you think you can dance? Well Rio de Janeiro is the place to prove it. Give the locals a hint of a beat and a half-inch of floor space and they’ll be jiggling away – feet, torsos, and (most importantly of all) butts all moving in perfect sync. And while there are more dance styles...

Brazilians need little excuse to break into music There’s no doubt about it – music lovers will be in their element in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilians are an extremely musical race, and the locals make the most of any opportunity to break into song and dance. Even where there are no musical instruments...

Given Rio de Janeiro’s reputation as a 24-hour party city, and the fact that Brazil is largely a Catholic country, Easter in Rio is a surprisingly low key affair. While Easter Friday is a public holiday (at least in principle), public transport operates as usual across the Easter weekend, and many...

With carnival 2011 already a blurry, caipirinha-muddled memory, Rio de Janeiro is getting ready for a major event of an entirely different kind – Barack Obama’s visit to the city. The US president will make make a public speech in Rio’s Cinelandia square on Sunday (March 20th) as part...

For hardcore partiers, Rio Carnival can’t be beat. For four days and nights the entire city sheds its (admittely few) inhibitions, and the streets are a right of colour and music. Believe it or not, though, there are times when all that hedonism starts to take its toll – particularly...