Forever effervescent Copacabana
Copacabana has been rollicking for decades. Bumping with bossa nova and sloshing with lime-lush caipirinha cocktails, it's the epicenter of the carnival that is Rio de Janeiro. Life throbs at every turn here, whether that's with the football-kicking favela crowds or the bikini-clad fashionistas on the palm-topped sidewalks. Sugarloaf Mountain towers overhead, volleyballs bounce into the blue skies and beach touts haggle behind crashing waves. This is the beating heart of Brazil's happening city by the sea, and Copacabana vacation rentals are your ticket to it all.
Copacabana _ Rio's great jewel
Copacabana is the great attraction of Rio. Lining the shores where the metropolis tumbles into the Atlantic, it's long been the epicenter of carnivals, nightlife, and sun-soaked enjoyments in the city. It's surrounded by oodles of other bucket list wonders, though, which should all be just a stone's throw from the doorstep of those Copacabana vacation rentals. There's the soaring lookout of Morro do Leme. There are the historic exhibits of the Forte Duque de Caxias. There's the enthralling heritage area of Forte de Copacabana, where coffeeshops mingle with cannon-topped bulwarks.
Living like a Copacabana local
Just watch the locals for a lesson in Copacabana life. Sunbathing is typically top of the list of priorities. That's shortly followed by bouts of volleyball and football on the sand. Then comes the daily routine of caipirinha drinking and dining, usually between the Carioca cantinas of Avenida Atlantica. Swims in the ocean are there, too _ just right for when the tropical heat cranks up. And so, too, are evening hikes to the top of Morro do Leme to watch the sunset glow across the bay.
Snowbirds assemble in Copacabana
Copacabana really cranks up the allure when the winter months are hitting North America. Between December and February, you can trade in the snows of home for the sultry weather and bossa nova beats of this iconic arc of sand on the Atlantic Ocean. Copacabana vacation rentals with sea views are in high demand then, and become most sought-after when the raucous Rio Carnival explodes on the waterside boulevards in February. To get good weather but smaller crowds, March is always a top alternative.
Copacabana is where the city meets the sea
Copacabana is one long, glowing scythe of a beach that runs along the eastern edge of Rio de Janeiro. It's distinctive for its wide, yellow-hued sand, and the rolling whitecapped waves that forever buffet the shoreline. To the back of the neighborhood, and to the south and north, the jungle-dressed peaks of hilly Brazil take over. There's the soaring Sugarloaf Mountain, the lookouts of Morro do Leme, and _ further in the distance _ the iconic rises of Corcovado _ that's where Christ the Redeemer stands, and where the Tijuca Forest National Park sprawls with old-growth woods.