With the FIFA World Cup already on and Olympics Games to be held in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, the city is readying itself to welcome visitors from different parts of the world with several new districts, sports venues, restaurants and smart hotels in the offing.
Rio de Janeiro is agog with activities now. As you stroll down the city, several images of varied sporting activities will catch your fancy. It’s amazing to see all that is happening here. The swimmers at the Luiz Lima Olympic athlete school can be seen getting vigorous training for 2016 Olympics. Strolling along the prom offers yet another fascinating view. You will see scores of body fitness enthusiasts stretching, twisting or lifting themselves on to their gym machines spread here.
Circuit training, weight training, footvolley matches, volleyball matches, frescoball matches, football matches… the list goes on endlessly. All these sights are signs of the days to come and those that are now happening. Rio de Janeiro has immersed itself in preparations of these world-class sporting events.
With these major sporting events, Rio de Janeiro is also vastly transforming itself. The prime things before the city authorities is how to handle such a huge influx of millions of visitors to the city to watch FIFA World Cup matches and later on Olympics Games scheduled to be held in the next two years.
Tall skyscrapers, deco-style residential towers, hotels and restaurants are dotting Rio’s skylines with more coming up in future. It can be said that with many international sporting events scheduled here, Rio de Janeiro is taking rebirth yet again.
If you are among the many lucky ones planning to visit Rio de Janeiro to watch sporting actions taking place, here are brief tips that will help you to locate the best places to stay, what and where to eat, where to drink and make merry, and what all to see on the sidelines of the sporting events.
Best Places to Stay
Rio de Janeiro has some of the best places to stay. If you have money to splurge, you may consider staying at the high-end Copacabana Palace, an awesome beachfront hotel that originally opened in 1923, but was again reopened after revamp in November 2012. This hotel mostly caters to a rich clientele. Another high-end hotel you may think of putting up is at Mama Ruisa. It is housed in a colonial mansion and provides amazing views over the bay. This stylish boutique hotel is worth staying at. La Suite is another worthwhile option for you. This small clifftop hotel is housed in a villa and situated in the Joatinga district. The hotel is away from the town, but is a good option for your stay.
Best Places to Eat
Térèze restaurant is a part of Relais&Châteaux hotel, situated in Santa Teresa. The restaurant is famous for offering fascinating views of Niterói-Rio Bridge and the bay. Chef Damien Montecer, who is originally from France, is renowned for his exotic cuisines such as tambaqui fish, guinea fowl, fazenda-raised beef, Bahian lobster, and cupuaçu and jambu. Miam Miam is an amazing eatery in the city to dine at. It is situated in Botafogo. The restaurant is famous for its luscious dishes such as Italian, French and Brazilian staples prepared with sauces and spices sourced from Asian countries. Bar do Mineiro is a bar-restaurant, situated at Santa Teresa, is renowned for serving iced beer, pork and bean stew or feijoada, and cachaça. To enjoy the best Italian food in Rio de Janeiro, consider visiting the Cipriani restaurant at Copacabana Palace. The restaurant attracts a large number of visitors on Saturday for the popular feijoada lunch.
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