rio de janeiro is home to a variety of gorgeous urban beaches that, incredibly, remain mostly unknown outside the city itself. the most famous are copacabana beach and ipanema beach - the first known around a world for about a century. the latter is famous since the bossa nova hit 'garota de ipanema' in the 1960's.

both beaches combine beautiful waters and landscapes with a high urbanization level, as they have been developed to include facilities ranging from bathrooms and public showers to kiosks and high-end restaurants.