Where to stay in Rio de Janeiro: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

Copacabana needs no introduction, and it still delivers. The beach curves for four kilometres between two headlands, backed by the wave-patterned mosaic promenade of Avenida Atlântica and a solid wall of apartment blocks. On the sand it's football, volleyball, caipirinha kiosks and vendors selling everything from grilled cheese to bikinis.

There are more hotels here than anywhere else in Rio, and the range is huge. At the top is a white 1920s palace that has been putting up film stars and royalty for a century, joined by newer seafront five-stars with infinity pools and rooftop bars. A block or two back, prices drop sharply. The streets are busy and a bit scruffy, but the metro runs right through, putting Ipanema, the centre and Sugarloaf minutes away.

Leme is the northern tip of Copacabana beach, a small residential pocket under a forested rock. It shares the same sand and the same promenade, but through-traffic stops here, so the pace is gentler: families, older residents walking small dogs, fishermen on the rocks at the end of the bay.

Hotels along the front have rooftop pools with a view down the entire sweep of Copacabana, and there are good, long-established places a few steps from the sand. Sugarloaf is only a couple of kilometres away. Choose Leme if you like the idea of Copacabana but would rather sleep somewhere calmer.

Ipanema is Copacabana’s cooler younger sister. The beach is just as beautiful, framed at its western end by the twin peaks of Dois Irmãos, and the crowd sorts itself along the lifeguard posts by tribe: surfers here, families there, the fashionable set around Posto 9. Everyone stops to applaud the sunset.

Behind the sand are leafy streets of boutiques, juice bars, galleries and many of Rio’s best restaurants, and the bar named after the famous bossa nova song. Seafront hotels here are some of the most desirable in Brazil, with rooftop infinity pools gazing along the bay; there are simpler, friendly options on the beach road too. It feels safer and more polished than Copacabana, and costs more.

Carry on west along the same beach and Ipanema becomes Leblon, Rio's most expensive neighbourhood. It is residential and relaxed, with excellent restaurants, a family-friendly stretch of sand and a low-key design hotel that sits practically on the beach, looking out to the Cagarras islands.

Round the headland is São Conrado, a small bay beneath the great rock of Pedra da Gávea, where hang-gliders land on the sand. Two large hotels dominate it: a cylindrical tower by Oscar Niemeyer with gardens by Burle Marx, and a modern beachfront hotel next to an upmarket shopping mall. Both give you resort space within reach of Ipanema.

Barra da Tijuca is a different Rio altogether. Built late and built for the car, it has wide avenues, gated towers, giant malls and the longest beach in the city, cleaner and far emptier than Copacabana, with good surf and kiosks all the way along. The Olympic Park is here, as are the big arenas and convention centres.

Hotels are newer and roomier than in the Zona Sul, and you get more for your money: beachfront five-stars, resorts with several pools, and rooftop decks overlooking the lagoon. It suits families and anyone who wants a resort feel. The catch is distance. The metro reaches the eastern end, but Sugarloaf and the city centre are a long ride, so expect to spend time in traffic.

Santa Teresa perches on a hill above the city centre, a tangle of cobbled lanes, old yellow trams, artists’ studios and nineteenth-century villas in various states of romantic decay. Its two outstanding hotels are both in historic properties, with lush greenery, a touch of old-world glamour and views across the rooftops to Guanabara Bay and Sugarloaf.

At the foot of the hill is Lapa, the heart of Rio’s nightlife, where samba clubs and bars spill out under the white arches of the old aqueduct; one hotel here is a restored mansion themed around samba and bossa nova. Beyond lies the business centre, with its museums, churches and the domestic airport. There is no beach, and you will need taxis at night, but for music and atmosphere this is the place.

Botafogo curls around a yacht-filled bay between the centre and Copacabana, with Sugarloaf rising directly across the water. The beach is for looking at rather than swimming from, but the neighbourhood has become one of the best in Rio for bars and casual restaurants, and it is cheaper than the oceanfront districts. Modern hotels sit close to the metro, with Copacabana, Ipanema and the domestic airport all about 15 minutes away.

When Rio gets too hot, do as Brazil's emperors did and head for the mountains. Petrópolis, in the forested Serra dos Órgãos north of the city, was the imperial summer capital, and its palace is now a museum. The air is cooler, the streets are lined with nineteenth-century mansions and the surrounding valleys are known for country inns and good restaurants.

Stay in a grand old hotel in the historic centre, or at a pousada or eco-hotel out in the Atlantic rainforest, with pools, saunas and mountain views. Neighbouring Teresópolis, on the edge of a national park, has rustic retreats with hiking trails. Two nights makes a refreshing break from the beach.