Excursions from Rio: The Serra – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Excursions from Rio
Perhaps you’d like to get out town and see what else the region has to offer. Among the beauties of a trip to Rio is the variety of places you can see, even with limited time. You’ve been to Copacabana, you’ve seen the girls from Ipanema, taken the funicular to the Corcovado and the cable car to the Sugarloaf, downed a few caipirinhas, and danced the samba till night turned to day. Now you need a little refreshment from the crowds, the noise, the electric buzz of a city that doesn’t know when to turn out the night light. Relief is not far away.

Excursion choices in Rio can be broken down into four basic categories:

The Serra, the mountainous region that looms invitingly in the distance, including the city of Petr�polis;

Regi�o dos Lagos, a beach paradise up the coast from Rio;

The Costa Verde, a delirium of greenery down the coast where hikers will find heavenly terrain to tread, water enthusiasts can enjoy sailing and diving areas, culture buffs can savor the historical town of Parati, and hedonists will of course, stagger happily away; and lastly,

The historical towns of Minas Gerais, two of which are close enough to be considered as excursions from Rio.

The Serra

The easiest daytrip from Rio is to the old royal haunt of Petr�polis. In 1807, the entire Portuguese court temporarily established a government in exile in Brazil in order to escape Napoleon’s encroaching armies, which were poised to take control of Lisbon. This laid-back mountain town was established by the royal family of Portugal as a refreshing retreat from the sweltering mess of Rio, which was the capital of Portugal’s government in exile.

And they certainly chose well. The drive alone is worth the trip, winding from the flatlands on the outskirts of Rio headlong into the verdant mountainscapes above. The main sights of Petr�polis can easily be enjoyed in a day. They include the former Imperial Palace, now the Museu Imperial; the house of Santos Dumont, the man Brazilians argue was the first in flight; and the Pal�cio de Cristal, a glass and cast-iron pavilion brought from France in 1884 as a present from Dom Pedro II to Princesa Isabel. Note that these sights are closed on Mondays, so plan your trip accordingly.

Should time allow, and especially if you happen to have a car, there are many other lovely spots in Rio state. Just forty kilometers away is the mountain retreat of Teres�polis. Though the town itself offers little to hold your attention, the area is blessed by its location, close to the Serra dos �rg�os, a national park of dramatic rock formations. Farther afield is the mountain town of Nova Friburgo, originally settled by Swiss farmers, which still retains a distinctly European feel.

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