Airport taxis, where you pay in advance, can be found at both of these gateways. Aeroporto Santos Dumont, closer to the city, is where the Rio-São Paulo air shuttle touches down. You’ll most likely fly into Aeroporto Internacional do Galeão, about 45 minutes northwest of the city.
For other perspectives on this society, see below: Bolsonaro's Brazil, along with links in our Media & Resources listings below. The sight of so many hot men swaying to the tropical beat will surely be one of your best memories of Rio. You’ll find every kind of music imaginable, but make sure you try one of the clubs where they dance the samba and bossa nova. Rio’s gay nightlife, centered in Ipanema and Copacabana, is another draw for foreign travelers. Both beaches are a great place to meet new friends or find out where the in-crowd is headed that evening. And the men on the sand - at Copacabana’s Bolsa Beach and Ipanema’s Farme de Amoedo (or “Farme Gay”) - are jaw-droppingly gorgeous. You won’t find lovelier stretches of sand anywhere. Today Europeans and North Americans are among those who arrive for the beaches, the sunshine, the food, and the people. In 1822 they crowned him Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil, in Rio, then fought a two year war to finally rid themselves of European rule. Unwilling to submit, Brazilians persuaded Pedro to declare independence. When the king returned to Portugal in 1821, leaving his son Prince Regent Pedro to govern in his name, powerful interests in Lisbon pushed for Brazil to revert to its former status. During the next thirteen years native-born Brazilians became accustomed to participation in government, and their ports were opened to foreign trade. The Portuguese royal family and court of 15,000 escaped Napoleon's invasion of 1807 to arrive in Brazil, their colony since the year 1500. In a twist of history, Rio was once the capital of Brazil and Portugal. It won’t take you long to realize why locals refer to this as the Cidade Maravilhosa - the “Marvelous City.” The cultural capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro never fails to impress. Emergency measures in the wake of Covid-19: Brazilian Report, and Travel Bans/Brazil