Ipanema Beach is located in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The beach at Ipanema became widely know by the song "The girl from Ipanema"  ("Garota de Ipanema"). Ipanema gained fame when Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes created their ode to the neighbourhood in 1962.

Ipanema neighbourhood is traditionally a wealthy one and, as a result, developed a more defined beach culture. During the military dictatorship in the 70's, Ipanema became some kind of alternative stronghold for the opposition. Around "Post 9"(life guard tower 9) young leftist intellectuals and hippies smoked weed and exchanged opinions, closer to "Posto 8" gay people met and, over in Arpoador, the surfers.

Today, things have changed, politics are long gone. Ipanema is world famous for having turquoise waters and beautiful people, the percentage of perfect bodies around Post 9 and 10 is extremely high, with Open air free gyms, volleyball courts and football fields virtually all over. Arpoador has the best waves of Rio de Janeiro and is still where surfers hang out.

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