Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro

Beyond Botafogo beach two hills, the Morro da Urca and Morro Cara de Cão, and the famous Sugar Loaf project into the bay and narrow its entrance. At the foot of the two hills is the 100m/110yd long Praia da Urca, near the spot where the original nucleus of Rio de Janeiro lay, between the Morro Cara de Cão and the Sugar Loaf. On Cara de Cão are three forts - São João, São José and São Teodósio. Fort São João, which is open to the public, preserves a number of cannon of the 18th-20th centuries.

Within easy reach of the Flamengo beach is a viewpoint (Mirante do Pasmado) on the Morro do Pasmado (Botafogo district), a park from which there is a picturesque prospect of Guanabara Bay and the Sugar Loaf.

The Villa-Lobos Museum, housed in a building of 1899, is protected as a national monument. The Museum contains personal mementoes and documents relating to the composer and his works - scores, tapes, records, photographs. There are also a music library and a sound archive.

In Rua São Clemente (Botafogo) is the house of the lawyer and statesman Rui Barbosa (1849-1923), now a museum containing his furniture and personal possessions and a library of law and Brazilian literature.

Between Rua São Clemente and the São João Batista cemetery, in the Botafogo quarter, are three other museums. The Museum of the Indian (Museu do Indio) contains an estimated 12,000 exhibits, including baskets, objects crafted from birds' feathers, pottery, musical instruments and weapons. There are also a library and collections of photographs and microfilms. The Museum sells Indian craft products.

Between the beaches of Flamengo and Urca, in a deep inlet, is the 800m/.5mi long Praia do Botafogo with its sailing and rowing clubs. Just off the beach is the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

The Theatre Museum displays manuscripts, theatre programs, costumes and properties of plays performed in Rio.

The Palácio da Cidade was formerly the Prefecture.