Rio's State Tourism Authority has a desk at the airport where prepaid taxi vouchers can be purchased. Travelling in metered or unofficial cabs is not recommended. An hourly shuttle bus is also available which stops at key hotels on its route into the city.

www.infraero.gov.br

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News weekly magazine Veja has a supplement 'Veja Rio' with listings, as do the papers Jornal do Brasil and O Globo on Fridays.

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Of all the many budget places this always wins out because of its seafront location.

Rua Francisco Otaviano 177; Tel: 021 2523 0060

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A great Brazilian invention is the restaurant where you pay by weight. There are hundreds of these throughout the city and many of them are really good: you go to the buffet, and pile up the plate with salads, barbecued meats and cooked dishes. At the end you weigh your plate – and pay for what you have served yourself. Its unlikely to be more than 20Br$, or £5 for a sizeable feast.

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(Also translated as Epitaph of a Small Winner.) Or anything else by Machado de Assis, Brazil’s greatest novelist. He wrote at the end of the 19th century, when Rio was the capital of a newly declared republic. His prose is so witty and insightful it’s an absolute delight to read.

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This film about drug wars in the shantytowns isn’t exactly sponsored by the tourist board. Yet it gives a great insight into why Rio is like it is – a question you will ask when you see the vast favelas on the cab ride in from the airport. The energy, music and visual splendour of the film exude the flavour of the city.

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You don’t really want to escape the crowds in Rio. To avoid the chances of getting mugged, try to always be around people.

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The Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon at the back of Ipanema has a cycle-path and a park around its perimeter. There are kiosks serving food and you can rent pedalos, bikes for kids and on weekends have a go on an elasticated harness.

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Before Rio’s rich started to live in gated towerblocks, they built wonderful mansions in Santa Teresa – a hilly area near the city centre. To travel through Santa Teresa take the “bondinho” or tram – a rickety yellow metal carriage that winds its way up to the beginning of the rainforest.

Take the metro to Cinelandia Station, go to Rua Senador Dantas, then walk along to Rua Profesor Lelio Gama – the tram station is on this street. Price: US$0.40

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Lined by 40m-high royal palms, the Jardim Botanico is a haven of peace and tranquillity in this noisy, bustling city. It was founded in 1808 as a nursery for European specimens and is full of rare bromeliads, orchids and cacti. There are monkeys in the trees and I once spotted a sloth on a wall.

Rua Jardim Botanico, 1008; Tel: 274 48 98; Open: 8am-5pm, Tues-Sun; www.jbrj.gov.br/

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At the juice bars that line the beach, the most popular choice is açaí. It is the purple fruit of an Amazonian palm, and is served as a frozen slush mixed with banana, guaraná and – often – granola. The taste is unusual, like a chocolate-blueberry sorbet with a mildly medicinal aftertaste. Its high levels of antioxidants make it a "superfood" and it also gives you energy and (apparently) sex drive.

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All of Rio’s beaches tend to get packed – except the small, idyllic Joatinga beach, which feels like you could be on a deserted island. Locals go there on weekends, so if you turn up on a weekday you will be one of the only people there.

The only way of getting there is in a cab – and you need to check he knows exactly how to get there. It’s at the end of the Estrada de Joá and through a private condominium, where there is a precarious trail down to the beach.

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Situated in a large 19th-century building and decorated with Brazilian exotica – as well as a bar and concert venue, it is the main props house for the local film and theatre industry – this is where you come to soak up Rio’s bohemian past. In the evenings - from Tuesday to Saturday – it is the best local showcase of traditional music, such as samba, forró and chorinho.

Rua do Lavradio 20; Tel: 3852-5516; www.rioscenarium.com.br/

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Which is to say, anywhere along Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon. On Sundays the coast road that joins them all is pedestrianised and it seems that the whole city comes out to walk. The beach – because it is free – is the most democratic area of Rio and you see all social classes and ages.

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Arpoador is the area where the neighbourhoods of Ipanema and Copacabana meet. The coastline becomes a rocky promontory and you can walk along trails here. The jagged geography creates high swells in the sea, so this is where surfers come, and you can sit and watch them ride the waves.

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God may have eyes everywhere, but in Rio Jesus has the best view. The Christ statue sits atop Corcovado hill, a dramatic granite plinth that towers 710m above the city. From here you can see Rio in all its glory – from the southern beaches to the northern suburbs and from the city centre across the bay to Niteroi.

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I like this hotel because it DOESN’T have a pool, restaurant and gym. Which means it’s not full of groups of tourists. It is in a great art deco building with original fittings and falling into disrepair in a charming way. For the location – right by the Copacabana Palace – the prices are very reasonable.

Avenida Atlântica 1456; Tel: 021 3332 5000; www.dayrell.com.br/ouroverde/gouro.htm

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Modelled on the Carlton in Cannes, this is the location that gave Rio its glamour in the 1950s. Even if you don’t stay here its worth coming for a caipirinha by the pool.

Avenida Atlântica 1702; Tel: 021 2548 7070; www.copacabanapalace.com.br/

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In the last few years there has been a boom in nouvelle Brazilian cuisine – it’s very like Pacific rim, but with local fruits and adaptations of traditional dishes. One of the first – and with a great interior – is Zazá, which is a block from Ipanema beach.

Rua Joana Anglélica 40, Ipanema; Tel: 021 2247 9101; www.zazabistro.com.br/

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The best restaurants in Brazil are in São Paulo, a city of Italian immigrants, and the owner of the best restaurant in São Paulo recently opened this outlet in Rio. It’s where Rio’s celebrities hang out. When they’re not checking each other out they are eating sophisticated Italian food that wouldn’t be out of place in top-of-the-range Milan.

Rua Anibal de Mendonça 157, Ipanema; Tel: 021 2239 8158; www.fasano.com.br/

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