Experience the best of Búzios

Armação dos Búzios occupies a small peninsula with more than twenty beaches, from Geribá, popular with surfers, to the sheltered horseshoe bay of Ferradura. The old fishing village was little known until the 1960s, when the French actress Brigitte Bardot visited, and a statue of her now sits on the seafront promenade named after her. The Rua das Pedras, a cobbled street of shops and restaurants, is the village's main street.

Small boats take passengers around the offshore islands for snorkelling in clear water, and João Fernandes and João Fernandinho are two of the best-known coves, with calm blue water. Cabo Frio, with its dunes, and Arraial do Cabo, whose turquoise bays are popular for diving, lie along the coast to the south-west. Rio de Janeiro is a few hours away by road.

Seafood defines the table: fish stews, grilled shrimp and the fresh catch served at seaside restaurants, followed by caipirinhas watched at sunset from the waterfront. The weather is sunny most of the year, with summer from December to March the busiest time and winter days still mild.