Beaches, mountains and park trails are jut some of what it has to offer

G6

By Michael Astor
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - The weak U.S. dollar and a steadily strengthening Brazilian real have seen Rio climb from the 135th most expensive city in the world just a few years ago, to the 31st most expensive today -- tied with Barcelona and Stockholm, according to the latest cost of living survey by the Mercer consulting firm.

Thank goodness for the beach!

From the white sands of Ipanema to Copacabana's honky-tonk to the seemingly deserted paradises on the city's outskirts, Rio is a beachgoers' paradise.

The beach is the epicentre of the city's social scene: it's where the locals meet, flirt and get old arguing about samba and soccer.

The city's beaches tend to be divided up into special interests -- so visitors should take some long walks to get a feel for where they fit in.

For example, Arpoador, the rocky outcrop at the edge of Ipanema belongs to the surfers, before blending into the stretch that attracts a poorer public from the outskirts and the Cantagalo shantytown up the hill.

A block or so down, the public turns gay only to fade out into more alternative scene as evidenced by the lefty flags and cloud of marijuana smoke around Post 9. Beyond that the crowd turns more conservative and well-heeled.

By the time you reach Leblon beach, there's a stretch of beach for young parents and their babies known as "Baixo Bebe," or lower baby, filled with playthings and hawkers bearing oversized dolls and toys.

Cariocas, as Rio residents are known, don't bring towels to the beach, but rather rent chairs and umbrellas from the vendors who crowd the beach and will also serve you cold beer, caipirinas and coconut water.

They slap it all down on your tab -- but if you're on a budget, it's a good idea to get the prices straight from the start.

Prainha and Grumari, a pair of idyllic beaches at the far edge of town, are less commercial but almost impossible get to using public transportation -- so try making friends with someone with a car.

Except for a few cold rainy days during the winter months around July and August, the beach is pretty much accessible all year round and many travellers spend their entire time in Rio on the beach, but the city has much more to offer the budget traveller -- like mountains.

Sugar Loaf mountain and Corcovado, atop of which sits the world famous Christ the Redeemer statue, can be fairly pricey to visit.

The cable car up Sugar Loaf now costs US$28 and the train up Corcovado is $24, but for the more athletic, hiking is always a memorable alternative.

The trail up to Corcovado takes about two hours and begins behind the Parque Lage in the Jardim Botanico district. The trail up the Sugar Loaf begins around the back and requires some rock climbing -- it's not for the fainthearted.

You can't climb back down the Sugar Loaf, but the cable car down to the smaller Moro de Urca is free -- though the next cable car down to the base station is not, so you have to walk through forest to get back to the base.

The Tijuca National Park also offers a number of excellent trails, including the Tijuca and Papagaio Peaks, from which you can enjoy the eerie sensation of looking down on the Christ Statue in the distance. (There have been occasional reports of hikers being robbed, and while these incidents are rare, it's a good idea to only take with you what you need.)

Those less inclined toward hiking, but who still want to enjoy mountaintop views will enjoy the Bondinho, or cable car, which leaves from behind the Banco do Brasil building and travels into the hilltop colonial neighbourhood of Santa Teresa.

Santa Teresa is one of Rio's more bohemian districts and has plenty of reasonable restaurants and shops selling local handicrafts.

The ferries to Paqueta and Niteroi from Praca XV in the city centre also provide a way to see the city from the water for a reasonable price.

Paqueta is quaint little island in Guanabara Bay without any cars, where bicycle taxis and horse-drawn carriages are available for hire.

Niteroi is a city just across the bay, with stunning flying saucer-shaped Museum of Contemporary Art designed by Oscar Niemeyer.

Niteroi's Mercado de Sao Pedro is a fish-lover's paradise, with dozens of simple restaurants just upstairs. Getting to these two destinations requires a little jockeying on city buses -- but the residents are usually friendly and willing to help even if they are unlikely to understand English.

Rio's nightlife is mostly concentrated in Lapa -- until recently a very dodgy neighbourhood filled with transvestites. The transvestites are still there, but now it's safer thanks to the dozens of bars and restaurants that have opened up.

The more popular bars featuring live samba, like Carioca da Gema and Rio Scenarium, charge hefty covers and have long lines mostly made up of tourists, but the best party in Lapa is on the streets, where throngs of young people drink beer sold by street vendors and listen to the music playing from dozens of competing sound systems.