From sophisticated jewelry and Euro-style clothes to teeny tangas and funky tie-dyed dresses, the shopping choices in Rio are extensive. You can stroll down streets lined with fashionable boutiques, barter with vendors at street fairs, or wander through one of more than two dozen air-conditioned malls.

Ipanema is Rio's most fashionable shopping district. Its many exclusive boutiques are in arcades, the majority of which are along Rua Visconde de Pirajá. In Copacabana you'll find souvenir shops, bookstores, and branches of some of Rio's better shops along Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana and its surrounding streets. If upscale jewelry catches your fancy, head for Avenida Atlântica.

Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of gold and the largest supplier of colored gemstones, with important deposits of aquamarines, amethysts, diamonds, emeralds, rubellites, topazes, and tourmalines. If you're making a big investment, stick with shops that offer certificates of authenticity and quality.