Rio's Suburbs Will Shine During Olympics

The Olympic Village will be located in one of Rio's glitziest suburbs, Barra da Tijuca, and will be connected to the main Olympic stadium by a new freeway that will bypass many traffic-clogged neighborhoods. Barra da Tijuca is home to pristine surfing beaches, luxury condos and one of the city's most famous entertainment areas.

With nearly half of the Olympic venues already built, tourists visiting Rio in the coming years won't see as much construction as they did in Beijing or Athens. Of the 33 Olympic venues,15 are new. Most of sites are outside the main tourist neighborhoods from Ipanema to Leblon, making it easier to reach popular restaurants and attractions.

Rio will offer 48,000 rooms for the games, including 25,000 rooms in new buildings. French hotel group Accor, which runs the Sofitel, Mercure and Ibis chains, stands to gain the most among major hotel companies.

At times, Rio feels like a better version of Miami, with its high-rise beach dwellings and residents that resemble telenovela actors. At other times, it feels like the wild West as pickpockets, pushy beach vendors and violence tarnish its entrepreneurial spirit.

Rio's suburbs, however, have become a safer, family-oriented sprawl of fashionable malls and glitzy beaches. And in seven years, they will get their chance to stand in the world spotlight.

-- Reported by Michael Martin of JetSetReport.com in Los Angeles.

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