Today enjoy a full day private tour of Rio de Janeiro, known locally as Cidade Maravilhosa (the Marvellous City').
After a tour of the downtown area, we stop at the huge Metropolitan Cathedral (Cathedral of Saint Sebastian), built in the form of an ancient Mayan pyramid. We also view the historical buildings around Cinelândia Square - including the Municipal Theatre, the National Library and Museum of Fine Arts.
We then visit the vast Sambadrome exhibition space, where the famous Rio Carnival is held. We also drive past the enormous Maracana, one of the largest football stadiums in the world and the venue for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Finally we visit the Bohemian area of Lapa, to climb the colourful Selaron Steps.
After lunch (own account) we drive past Flamengo Park, the largest public park in Rio, to one of the most famous symbols of the city - Sugarloaf Mountain. Here we travel all the way to the top, in two cable cars. The first cable car takes us to Urca Hill, a vantage point with beautiful views of Guanabara Bay and its islands, the Rio-Niterói Bridge and Corcovado Mountain. The second cable car takes us all the way to the top, with wonderful views over Copacabana beach, Santa Cruz fortress and the beaches of Niterói.