Behind the scenes in Brazil

On the morning after the night before, any sore heads will be swiftly forgotten with a trip on a cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain. Known in Portuguese as Pão de Açúcar, Sugarloaf is undoubtedly one of Rio’s signature sights, a rocky peak that soars high above the city and the glittering Guanabara Bay. You’ll rise nearly four hundred metres above Rio, where the city, Corcovado mountain and its iconic statue Christ the Redeemer unfurl before you.

From Rio de Janeiro, you’ll travel to Búzios, a sleepy fishing village until 1964 when it was catapulted into the limelight after French icon Brigitte Bardot and her Brazilian boyfriend stumbled upon it. Brigette was spellbound by its Caribbean-like beaches and her proclamation of love for it has led it to become a premier seaside resort. Celebrities like Bill Gates, Mick Jagger and Madonna have followed in her wake and even forty years on, Búzios remains Brazil’s answer to Saint-Tropez. You’ll spend three nights living the jet-setter life on this dreamy peninsula, with a Búzios tour of its twenty-plus beaches (including one named after Brigette herself) and soaking up the boutiques and local restaurants of Rua das Pedras, the area’s cobblestoned heart.

After basking like Bardot in the sun, you’ll hop over to Salvador in the state of Bahia. Brazil’s capital until 1763, Salvador is home to the country’s vibrant Afro-Brazilian community. It’s a city essentially split into two parts: the Lower City and Upper City. You’ll explore both, beginning with the old port, capoeira (a Brazilian martial art) demonstrations and arty Modelo Market of the Lower City and the more contemporary museums, neighbourhoods and churches of its Upper City. In the evening, make a beeline for the hip neighbourhood of Rio Vermelho. Known as Salvador’s bohemian quarter, this is where the locals go for a night out and you’ll do as they do, feasting on Bahian street food like acarajé (black-eyed pea fritters) and washing it down with a drink from a local boteco (bar) before partying Bahian style until the small hours.

The following day, learn more about Salvador’s Portuguese past on a historical tour through the pastel-hued buildings of Pelourinho, which boasts one of the largest collections of colonial architecture in Latin America. It’s a neighbourhood that will make your jaw drop – much like the rest of Brazil, really.