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During the summer months, and especially at weekends, CABO FRIO
is at a pitch of holiday excitement, generated by the out-of-towners
who come here to relax in the fresh sea breezes.
The town was founded in the late sixteenth century, but it was only
really in the twentieth century that it developed, thanks to the
salt and tourist industries.
Cabo Frio is built around sand dunes and there are
beaches everywhere: indeed, this is the only attraction, since
the town is both ugly and poorly planned, but it's a relaxed place
and the bars are full of happy holiday-makers at night.
The closest beaches to town are the small Praia do Forte ,
near the centre, with its fort of São Mateus (daily 8am-6pm)
built by the French in 1616 for protection against pirates, and the
larger, more popular Praia da Barra.
The best beaches, though, all lie outside Cabo Frio, a taxi ride or decent walk away
on the route to Arraial do Cabo, another small town a few kilometers
to the south.
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Six kilometers north in the direction of Búzios, near
Ogivas, lies Praia do Peró, a good surfing spot, peaceful
and deserted on weekdays, and further on is the small Praia das
Conchas, with its sand dunes and clear, calm, blue waters.
On
arrival, it's a three-kilometer walk in from the bus station
to the centre, along Avenida Júlia Kubitschek. There are excellent
bus connections to and from Rio, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte and
Petrópolis as well as up and down the coast. Praça Porto Rocha, the
location of the telephone office and a branch of Banco do Brasil,
marks the centre of town. Alongside the square is one of the town's
very few buildings of note, the church of Nossa Senhora da
Assunção , built in 1615 by the Jesuits, which has been
perfectly preserved. One block west of here, at Largo de Santo
Antônio 55, is the post office.
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