Rio de Janeiro was an incredible stop on our trip. We were based in Ipanema, close to the beach there and in Copacabana, and spent our time soaking up the sights and sounds of those iconic seafronts, as well as visiting other key spots in Rio.

A particular highlight was ‘Escadaria Selarón’, or the ‘Selaron Steps’, which we visited on a tour of the Downtown and Lapa areas. It’s a staircase decorated with tiles which fans sent from all over the world to the Chilean-born artist Jorge Selaron. He made the steps his life’s work and called it “my tribute to the Brazilian people”. What a tribute! Hundreds of tiles, from the face of Princess Diana to this one of Jorge himself, cover the steps between Lapa and Santa Teresa.

Christ the Redeemer was, of course, a key reason we wanted to visit Rio and it didn’t disappoint. What was surprising was how much the view from the top was part of the experience. Seeing the statue in all its glory is breathtaking, but looking down at the city from that height was incredible!

We’ve been lucky enough to see street art from talented artists many times on our trip so far, so we were really excited to see what Rio had adorning its walls and doorways. A tour of the dockland area let us take in some amazing work, including the world’s biggest mural by a single artist – this multicoloured masterpiece by Kobra.

See all our pics from Rio below…