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Gaspar de Lemos set sail from Portugal for Brazil in 1501 and entered a huge bay in January 1502. Mistaking it for a river, he named it Rio de Janeiro.  It was the French, however, who first settled permanently here.  The Portuguese, like the French, harvested brazil wood along the Brazilian coast, and as Portuguese colonization began to take hold, the French became concerned about being pushed out.

In 1555 three ships full of French settlers reached the Baía de Guanabara and settled on a small island they called Antarctic France.  It didn't take long for the weak new town to come under attack from the Portuguese.  They finally expelled the French from the region in 1560, also driving out the powerful Tamoio Indians, who allied with the French, in a series of grizzly battles.

The founding Cariocas set up a fortified town on the Morro Castelo in 1567 called São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro.  It was a typical Brazilian town: poorly planned, with irregular streets in medieval Portuguese style.  By the end of the century the settlement was getting by on fishing and the export of brazil wood and sugar cane.  In 1660 the population was made up of 3000 Indians, 750 Portuguese and 100 blacks, but was still Brazil's third most important settlement.  Slaves were brought in and sugar plantations thrived. People were merry - well, at least the plantation owners were.

A gold rush in Minas Gerais at the start of the 18th century - ending half a century later when the gold ran dry - changed Rio forever, and Rio became the prize of Brazil.  In 1710 the French, who were raiding the Portuguese colonies, attacked the city.  The French were defeated at first, but a second try succeeded and the entire population fled the city in the dark of the night.  The French demanded sizable piles of gold, sugar and cattle, and the Portuguese had no choice but to oblige.  However, the victorious French were brought down a few notches when two of their returning ships, filled with gold, were lost in treacherous storms.

Rio bounced back, replacing Salvador de Bahia as the colonial capital in 1763. In 1808 the entire Portuguese monarchy and court arrived in Rio, and so it was that the city came to house what was left of the Portuguese Empire. With the court came a heap of money and skills that were used to build of some of the city's lasting monuments.  The coffee boom in the mountains of São Paulo and Rio revitalized the economy, and the city took on a new importance as a port town and commercial center.

Passenger ships began sailing to London in 1845 and to Paris in 1851, and by the end of the 19th century, the city's population exploded due to European immigration and internal migration.  By 1900 the population was 800,000. The early 1920s to the late 1950s saw Rio's golden age.  It became a romantic, exotic destination for Hollywood stars and international high society, who came to frolic in the city's posh casinos and nightclubs.  The city remained the political capital of Brazil until 1960, when the capital was moved to Brasília. During that time, there was a hotel building boom along the beaches that saw the rise of biggies like the Sheraton and Rio Palace.

As the glitz was glistening, however, the favelas (shantytowns) of Rio were becoming overcrowded with immigrants from poverty-stricken areas of the north-east and interior, which swelled the number of urban poor in the city. As crime and violence went on the upswing, the city as a whole began to lose its gloss.  It wasn't until Rio was chosen as host city for Eco 92 (the UN environmental conference) that living conditions began to improve in the favelas. In the build up to the event, major projects, financed by federal grants, were undertaken to polish up the city.  The trend to upgrade roads and restore buildings has continued.

The very successful favela-bairro project, financed at the local level, strives to integrate favelas into the rest of the city by providing basic sanitation and by planning leisure areas, health clinics, schools, preschools and community centers.  As a result, Rio looks better than it has in many years.  Rio remains the cultural and tourist capital of Brazil.  It is still the trendsetter for the rest of the nation as far as fashion and pace are concerned, and should continue being so for years to come.

This cidade maravilhosa (marvelous city) is one of the most densely populated places on earth. The thick brew of 7 million Cariocas - as the inhabitants are called - thrive on dance, drink, beach, sport and sun.  It's a city whose people grab life head-first - just think of the full-scale sensuality of Carnaval. In this city of samba, Cariocas of every shape, size and wallet carry with them a Dionysian spirit.

The international tourist crowd take advantage of Rio's ritzy side - there are innumerable opportunities to be decadent in this fast-paced environment.  But Rio also has much to offer the budget traveler.  There are cheap hotels and restaurants aplenty, and the beach is a free and flowing entertainment zone.

The Cariocoas are into cycling, and they two-wheel down paths around Lagoa das Freitas, Barra da Tijuca and on the oceanfront from Ipanema to Lema.  Surfing is pretty popular with the locals as well - Arpoador, between Copacabana and Ipanema, is where most surfers congregate, though there are some fun breaks further out.

For high times, work up the nerve for some hang-gliding and para-gliding off the 510m (1673ft) Pedra Bonita - you can even arrange a voo duplo (double flight) with a pilot.  Less windblown are helicopter flights over the city.

Excellent hiking and climbing are possible close to the city, as there are three national parks within Rio state; there are also good walking and jogging paths in the zona sul.  If you're not breathless after all of this, you can check out the area's other numerous offerings - everything from tai chi to tennis is available. And you're sure to see some volleyball on the beach.

The streets of Rio go tchica-tchica-bum! when Carnaval comes to town for five heady days that begin at midnight on the Friday before Ash Wednesday.  Every year, wealthy and spaced-out foreigners descend on Rio en masse to get drunk, get high, bag some sun and exchange exotic diseases. Dancing, parades, head-dresses and bare breasts are all part of the spectacle.

The Festas Juninas in June is one of the most important folkloric festivals in Brazil.  In Rio, it's celebrated in various public squares throughout the month.  Music, colorful stalls and a procession into the streets mark the Festa de NS da Glória do Outeiro on August 15.  Every Sunday in October, the lively Festa da Penha is one of the largest religious and popular festivals in the city. Not surprisingly, the year ends with a bang on New Year's Eve & Festa de Iemanjá, as millions of people celebrate while tons of fireworks explode in the glittering sky.