Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro

Check out Letras e Expressões - a former newstand that has grown into a bookshop, music store and cafe all in one.

Everyone from local intellectual to soap opera stars drop by to check out what's new, have a cup of coffee or jut get the paper.

Get a magazine to read just before heading to the beach or drop by late in the afternoon to browse.

It is indeed the place where you can see the genuine city of Rio de Janeiro, a very residential place on the Ocean, the beach is gorgeous, the ambience is sophisticated in every street, the sea is clean and the people are simply gorgeous!

I am very lucky to live closeby...And Ipanema is the place where I do mostly of my things!;)

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RIO DE JANEIRO...one dramatic picture that comes to mind...the PRAIA (Beach)..Ipanema beach located at one of the most stunning settings geographically.This is a must for everyone traveling to Brazil.Pack light, pick a spot and someone will tend to you as you arrived immediately. Rent a beach chair, umbrella and Ice cold Choppe(local beer) and enjoy the white sand, turquoise blue atlantic water and oh yeah..the CARIOCAS(locals) as they put on a show that reminds me of Victoria's Secret Special. The only difference is this happens everyday all day.

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One of the main reasons people go to Rio is for the beaches and Ipanema was wall to wall people on a Friday afternoon. We started off at the end of the beach closest to Copacabana and headed west and it became clear that the beach was divided into sections. I didn't happen to notice the Posto divisions but the guides say that Posto 9 is where the most fit and tanned bods are, the next section is the gay beach, identifiable by the rainbow flag if you don't happen to notice all the hot young men, Posto 8 is where the kids from the favelas (slums) hang out but to us it looked like a football (soccer) beach with all the balls flying around. There are also several spots with surfers trying to catch waves, none of them very good at it! Further on in the Leblon section, is supposed to be mostly families and singles.

Ipanema is my favorite place to hang out in Rio. The beach is absolutely fantastic, and the crowd excellent.

There is nothing better than to go run, bikeriding or skateboarding along the beach street on Ipanema

I can just sit for hours at one of the kiosks that sell agua de coco and watch the people go by and look at the waves.

Ipanema is great at night too with plenty of good restaurants, botequims, bars, and pubs. Located in the Zona Sul, this is your best option to stay in Rio.

All of us know this one song , many only in english (not a bad version) and many with the original words by Vinicius de Moraes , a revered carioca poet..... Melody by Tom Jobim , the supreme master of Bossa Nova during the sixties when Brazil was aching under the rule of miltary junta.....

Olha que coisa mais linda
Mais cheia de gra?a
? ela menina, que vem e que passa
Num doce balan?o a caminho do mar

Mo?a do corpo dourado
Do sol de Ipanema
O seu balan?ado ? mais que um poema
? a coisa mais linda que j? vi passar .....

yes... the girl from Ipanema , the song that has become the epitome of carioca sensuality and savoir vivre...

Well , almost all talk is about Copacabana , which is hectic and loud...... Ipanema , almost adjoining to Copacabana , is much calmer , serene and simply nicer..... So don't miss this beach and if it was only for the songs sake.... And who knows...? Maybe SHE with the golden body will pass by......

But then a friend from Austria who is gay ( I'm not , he's just a friend.... lol..) , comes to Brazil every other year and he asked me if I knew anything about gay action in Rio ... I answered : I'm sorry , I have no idea as this is not my "praia"..(= beach)... and then he told me that Ipanema Beach , way at the end Leblon side is THE gay meeting point of all carioca beaches..... Well.... maybe then HE with the golden body passes by there.....

compare with the Copacabana, the Ipanema is narrow in some sections, so it could get crowded by north america standard. But the water is clean. We stayed in a Copacabana hotel which locates on the side closer to Ipanema, so walked to Ipanema beach every time.

On Ipanema beach near the Caesar Park hotel and Posto Nove(spelling?) you can find many massage tables set up on the sand. Some are under umbrellas(which I prefer since I'm not really in desperate need of a tan) and others are in the sunshine. The girls and guys that perform the massages are all very professional and they took great pains to insure that your belongings were secure during your time on the table. The average price was 40 Reals for 30 minutes which translates to just over $20 US. Not a bad deal at all.