The city of Rio de Janeiro, often mistook to be the capital of Brazil, is the second largest city of the nation.
It is often referred to as "The Marvelous City".
It has a very unique geographic feature of mountains along the coast, and has one of the most spectacular harbors in the world.
Air Canada, U S Airways and Air France operate flights to Rio de Janeiro.
This Mecca of football is famous for its beaches.
Copacabana and Ipanema are some of the most popular ones.
The laid-back beach culture of the city is very addictive.
The statue of "Christ the Redeemer" overlooking the harbor is a popular destination with tourists.
It is now easy to reach the top by elevator or escalator.
The city is gaining popularity on the tourism circuit, with many cheap airline flights operating to the city.
The Sugar Loaf Mountain is another must see place in Rio.
The tramway to the top of the mountain offers some spectacular view.
The sunset is best viewed from here.
Maracana was once the largest football stadium in the world.
This city takes its football very seriously, and life literally comes to a standstill on match days.
The match tickets are usually sold out with cheap tickets very difficult to get hold of.
The other attractions of the city are the Botanical Garden and many other museums and parks.
The city is bustling with activity during the weekdays, and during weekends, it's the beeches that are full.
The best time to visit Rio is during the Carnaval.
It is highly advertised around the world.
People plan to visit the city during this season.
It is famous for its vibrant display of Samba dances.
The samba schools around the city take great pains to participate in the annual parade.
It is a riot of colors with exquisite costumes and an elaborate headgear.
There is tough competition between the various samba schools to win the best participant trophy.
It is indeed a spectacular event.
However, cheap tickets to Rio de Janeiro are difficult to find anytime close to this event, which usually lasts for about 2 weeks.
For the adventurous tourist, there are various hand gliding and paragliding tours around the city.
They usually take off from the various mountaintops.
Hiking and trekking are also good options to explore the city outskirts.
The food scene also has a wide variety here.
The best way to try the different dishes is to settle for some buffet style eatery.
Feijoado is the most famous dish.
The city is going to be host to the 2014 FIFA World cup and the 2016 Olympics.
Both these events are going to be high on the agenda of sports enthusiasts.
Planning well in advance will give a better chance of getting tickets on one of the cheap flights to Rio de Janeiro.