7AM : Go for an early morning run or stroll along Ipanema’s beachfront road Avenida Vieira Souto before the sun gets too strong. Depending on your starting point, head towards Arpoador and pause with a coconut to watch the surfers or make the short climb at the end of Leblon beach to take in the view from the mirante (viewpoint).

8AM: Quench your thirst Carioca style at one of the city’s many juice bars, with freshly blended tropical fruit juice, accompanied by a bowl of açai fruit with granola, a coffee and maybe some scrambled eggs or a sandwich.

9AM: Relax at the spa in the most famous hotel in Rio: the Belmond Copacabana Palace. The sumptuous spa uses By Samia and Biologique Recherche products, and treatments can last an entire day – including lunch by the pool – should a head-to-toe reset be needed.

10AM: Widen your eyes at the CCBB, or Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, with the dizzying view upwards from its main exhibition foyer. This ornate, city-centre art, music, theatre and cinema space shows big-name, touring art exhibitions and holds live concerts. It also has a café and an excellent bookshop.

11AM: Lose yourself in one of the world’s great botanical gardens. Rio’s Jardim Botanico in the neighbourhood of the same name is a refuge away from the heat and noise, where you can explore and learn about the flora or take a book and read in the shade of centuries-old Imperial Palms while toucans chat overhead.

1PM: Lunch in style and enjoy a local obsession: sushi. The city’s love affair with raw fish shows no sign of letting up. Healthy, fresh and, at the always stylish Sushi Leblon, served up in the most creative ways.

3PM : Browse the rails of the hottest Brazilian designers at Pinga. Fronted by the force-of-nature model Beti Motta, the store is located in a beguiling Ipanema villa and, over two floors, offers creations by some of the country's brightest young talents in fashion today. The focus is on the irreverent and eccentric.

4PM: Contemplate the planet at the Museu do Amanha, part of the revitalised Port Zone, one of the boldest public building projects in decades that has brought this dilapidated quarter into the spotlight and is encapsulated by this incredible building and its forward-thinking exhibitions.

6PM : Marvel at the thousands of colourful tiles blanketing all 250 steps of the alleyway leading from Lapa up into Santa Teresa. The obsessive work of the late Chilean artist, Jorge Selarón, this striking feature is one of the city’s most celebrated pieces of street art.

7PM : Sink a cold draught beer in the atmospheric square of Largo São Francisco da Prainha – home to a laid-back, fun-loving hub of bars and live music all crammed around a cobbled street and flanked by beautiful but crumbly colonial architecture. The Bafo da Prainha bar draws a diverse crowd from across the city.