Copacabana Bolsa Beach (in front of the Copacabana Palace)

Copacabana has its own gay-popular stretch of sand, marked by a rainbow flag planted on the beach. It's the local, older-crowd counterpart to Ipanema's Farme de Amoedo section and stays busy all year. The beach vendors (barracas) by the flag rent out chairs and umbrellas and sell drinks. The rainbow-flag area is usually placed opposite the Copacabana Palace rather than down at Posto 6, so look for the flag rather than going by the posto number. Bring only what you need onto the sand, because phone theft on Rio's beaches is common. On New Year's Eve the whole beach fills with more than two million people dressed in white.