Búzios and its beaches are an ideal place to relax after time in Rio de Janeiro, which is relatively close in Brazilian terms, a hundred miles or so. But while Rio is famous for chaotic charm, Búzios is all about chilled out charm, a place for a restorative beach holiday.

Pause here in the middle of a tailor-made trip to recharge at one of its 23 beaches during the sunny days or at one of its 100 bars as evening falls - these and the many restaurants and clubs stay open well into the early morning hours. This might be expected of a resort first made popular by the arrival of Brigitte Bardot and that was once seen as a Latin and unspoilt St Tropez. When she visited, in the Sixties, Búzios was a picturesque fishing village, sleepy amid the sandy beaches.

Long before that Búzios was settled by European pirates and slave traders - now it's buzzy and sophisticated, although no St Tropez, with most bars and boutiques lining the sweet and small main street, Rua das Pedras, which is also home to a kitsch brass homage to Bardot.