Rio de Janeiro - City of Brazil

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city of Brazil, behind São Paulo, and the third largest city in the continent, behind São Paulo and Buenos Aires. The city is capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It was the capital of Brazil for almost two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 while it was a Portuguese colony and from 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation. It was the capital of the Portuguese Empire from 1808 to 1821. Commonly known as just Rio, the city is also nicknamed A Cidade Maravilhosa, or "The Marvelous City".

Rio de Janeiro also boasts the two world's largest forests inside an urban area. The first is the forest in Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, or White Stone State Park. The second, almost connected to the first, is the famous Floresta da Tijuca, or "Tijuca Forest". The Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport connects Rio de Janeiro with many Brazilian cities and also operates several international flights.

Despite its charm and beauty, Rio is reputed to be one of the most violent cities in the world and motivated movies such as Bus 174, City of God and Elite Squad portraying severe social issues. Violent crime is concentrated in the slum areas known as favelas, which are located largely on the periphery of the City.

Rio has a tropical climate. The temperature occasionally reaches over 40°C in inland areas of the city, and extreme maximum temperatures above 30°C can happen every month. In the main tourist areas the temperature is moderated by the cool sea-breezes from the ocean.

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum. There are also international schools, such as the American School of Rio de Janeiro, the German School and the British School of Rio de Janeiro.


The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro is the largest federal university of Brazil, where state-owned universities are the best and most qualified institutions. It is seated in the city of Rio de Janeiro, with three campuses and two more independent buildings in downtown Rio.

The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro is a private non-profit Pontifical University in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Rio de Janeiro State University is one of the largest universities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its Faculty of Law and its Medical School are ranked by the Ministry of National Education the best graduation courses in Rio de Janeiro and Faculty of Law is amongst the top three in Brazil. UERJ's Superior School of Industrial Design is considered one of the best design schools in the world.

The official song of Rio de Janeiro is "Cidade Maravilhosa", which means "marvelous city". The song is considered the "civic anthem" of Rio, and is always the favourite song during Rio's Carnival in February.