Wherever you look in Rio the beauty is mesmerising. No other city has landscape as audacious – mountains of rainforest, enormous granite rocks hundreds of metres high, a heart-shaped lagoon and the perfectly crescented beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. Even the favela shantytowns, high on the hills, twinkle at night like Christmas lights. The Cariocas – as the locals are known – are gorgeous too. No other Brazilian city is as racially mixed, and the streets and beaches are a catwalk parade of every possible colour, size and shape (usually fitted into tight and tiny swimwear).

Because the beaches dictate the pace of life, there is a wonderful – if sometimes frustrating for us Europeans – informality and spontenaiety. You never plan – you just do. The climate means that you can be outdoors all the year round – for a walk through rainforest, for a parapent over São Conrado or for just a lie on the beach. When the sun sets a different side of the city opens up. There is a music scene you would expect – samba played in bars into the early hours – but you will be surprised at how well you can eat here.

From the juice bars that stock fruits you have never heard of to the churrasco all-you-can-eat barbecues – where each cut of meat has its own waiter - Rio’s restaurants are full of exotic, lipsmacking tastes. (And incredibly cheap too.) This is a city that pleasures all the senses.