Synonymous with the marvelous city, is well of course, its marvelous beaches.

The first beach from north to south is Flamengo,  which began as a huge land reclamation project, and begins just below the downtown area and the Santos Dumont airport.

The Aterro de Flamengo is large area full of tropical trees, calm waters and a large beach where the extensive city bike path of Rio begins.

Here you also have the Gloria Marina (Marina da Gloria), where you have boats departing for scenic Guanabara Bay and open-ocean tours.

Botofogo is a small beach with calm waters and the beautiful view of the Sugarloaf Hill/Pao de Acucar, and Urca Hill/Morro da Urca, where you have the postcard view of the city.

Around the corner from here you have the Rio de Janeiro yacht club before you arrive at the small Urca Beach/Praia de Urca.

The furthest beach east is called Praia de Fora and is located on the military facility of Urca.

Next, down and around the Sugarloaf Hill is Red Beach/Praia Vermelha, located below the cable cars which take you to Urca and then on to Sugarloaf, with its marvelous city views.

Red Beach is a nice family beach due to its calm green waters, good for swimming and nice sunsets.

Next on the list, Copacabana is world renowned, with its famous mosaic style sidewalks along Avenida Atlantica.

One can feel the history that has taken place on this 8 kilometer stretch of ocean front. Officially the beach is made up of two neighborhoods, Copacabana, the larger part up of two sections of the same strip of sand, and Leme, which lies at the northern end. The two are divided by the street named Avenida Princesa Isabel.

Kiosks dot the walkway, where the Rio Bike Path continues after a short detour away from the coast.

The yellow colored sand of Copa makes up part of a large land reclamation project, which widened the space along the beach to accommodate more movement. Lots of sports being played on Copacabana, including, beach soccer/futebol, volleyball, and foot volei - that's volleyball with no hands allowed.

Copacabana beach is crescent-shaped, 200 ft. wide (65 meters) anusually with some strong waves and current, particularly in the center portion, thus not recommended for swimming at all.  Many famous hotels face the famous beach, including the legendary Copacabana Palace.

Ipanema, the beach made famous by Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim's song 'The Girl from Ipanema', resides south of Copacabana.

The two beaches are separated by the Fort of Copacabana, an active military facility.

At the tip of the extension of the fort is the Devil's Beach/Praia do Diabo, known for its strong waves, part of which lies on military property and the other half backs up to the Arpoador Hill, at the northeast part of Ipanema Beach.

For those that enjoy working out, you will find a nice area with gymnastic bars and barbells, located hillside of Devil's Beach.

Arpoador is a great place to enjoy the view and watch people, with a hillside park area. There is a another viewing point above the workout place with some greenery which is another nice view.

Moving towards the southwest, you pass a few miles of beach before you reach the section of sand called Leblon, which is the opposite side from Arpoador, and divided by a canal.

At this point you have the beautifully shaped Morro dos Dois Irmaos (Two Brothers Hill), one of the postcard images of the city. You have a panoramic view of Ipanema from the beginning of the Oscar Niemeyer highway, located soon after the end of Leblon.

There is another viewing area above with a wonderfully maintained park area.

As you travel further southwest along the Oscar Niemeyer highway, you arrive at Vidigal Beach, a small section of sand fronting the Sheraton Hotel.

Shortly after, you have the beaches of Sao Conrado and Pepino/Praia de Pepino, where you have the landing area for the hang gliders and Para gliders at the western end of the beach.

Moving further west, you have the hidden Joatinga Beach, below the tunnel and the mansions that look down on Sao Conrado and Barra da Tijuca Beach.

Access to Joatinga is controlled by the gated community fronting the beach, with the entrance along the Joa Highway (Estrada de Joa'). Barra, as it is commonly referred to as, is the most extensive stretch of sand in Rio at 10 miles long (15 km). On the section known as Pepe Beach  Praia de Pepe you have one of the biggest beach party areas in Rio.

The next beach is called Recreio das Bandeirantes, or Recreio for short, an environmentally protected area of forests and lakes.

Shortly after you arrive at one of Rio's finest beaches, Little Beach/Prainha, surrounded by beautiful mountains, which make up part of an ecologic park where one can hike in the Atlantic Forest/Mata Atlantica.

Prainha has excellent water conditions and is also known for its great surfing.

Now on the fringes of the city, you come to Grumari, another real gem with its spectacular views. This beach is semi-deserted and is one of the most beautiful in Rio.

At the furthest corner of the beach you have the Corner Beach (Praia do Canto), a fisherman's community, where you enjoy fresh fish at the beachside kiosks.

Some of the last beaches within the city limits are Buzios, Meio and Perigoso accessed by trails beginning in Guaratiba.

This region of Rio is known for its good seafood restaurants with good value.

So there you have it, every beach in Rio de Janeiro, all of which are prepared to serve all tastes of beach lovers. Grab your beach towel and plenty of sunscreen and pick your tropical beauty!