On weekends, multiple generations of Rio families flock to Ipanema for sun, sand, and surf. (Peter Neville-Hadley/Horizon Writers' Group)

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rio's racy reputation makes it seem far from suitable as a family holiday destination, but nevertheless our children were immediately impressed.

Clutching the teddy bears they were each given at check-in and wearing the child-size bathrobes and slippers that were waiting in the room, they contemplated with enthusiasm a list of children's DVDs available on request.

There seemed little point of taking a long, overnight flight to Brazil when simply checking-in to a local luxury hotel would probably have amused them just as much. But balcony views of the great sweep of Copacabana beach and of a city startlingly punctured by sharply pointed mountains would have been impossible to duplicate at home, and despite guide book warnings of everything from pickpockets to pedophiles, the world outside the hotel looked irresistable to children and adults alike.

Guide books also warned of the segmentation of beaches into differing social areas with different dress codes, although this was more about dressing down than dressing up. Indeed there were descriptions of certain swathes of sand covered in nothing but stylishly near-naked and competitively beautiful bodies. So in the morning we dragged the children away from the breakfast buffet's perfect mille feuille pastries and a made-to-order waffle station to sort out some beachwear.

The Sofitel has an unbeatable location on the point of a coastal right-angle with Copacabana running to the north, and equally famous Ipanema to the west. Newly acquired and almost compulsory Havaiana flip-flops flapping at every step we made our way along reputedly more relaxed and safer Ipanema Beach, heading for a child-friendly section called Baixo Bebe to the west. But soft sand can turn any walk into a trudge, and when during a brief pause our three-year-old daughter was invited to play with some other children, we called a halt.

A beach vendor promptly appeared, introduced himself as Marco and shook hands, then swiftly set up two deck chairs and a sunshade, and we sat down to survey the surroundings.

It became apparent that we had happened upon one of those scary areas for the beautiful and better-off, who were residents of the neighbouring and socially superior Ipanema and Leblon districts. But there was no need to feel out of place. For every artfully shaven waif in a bikini there was a grandmother (in a bikini, too). And for every triangular-torso'd hunk there was a man who, if likening his stomach to a container for beer, would have to choose not six-pack, but barrel.

Word on the damaging effects of long exposure to the sun had apparently not yet reached Cariocas (as the residents of Rio are known) or perhaps they were ahead in understanding the importance to health of a daily dose of sunlight-engineered vitamin D.

While we faced the water, admiring the panorama of the beach's crescent, the island-dotted bay, the parade of passersby, the surf and the surfers, the Cariocas turned feet-first to the sun as it climbed over the low-rise residences behind the beach, and swivelled slowly as the morning progressed.When neighbouring sunbathers would ask us to watch their things while they went to cool off this reinforced a sense of inclusion and community rather than any fear of imminent crime.

The children splashed happily in the lagoon-like conditions created by an off-shore sandbar, and with paternal assistance dug the moist sand into forts against the incoming tide. Without denying the existence of Rio's problems, visible at a distance in the no-go shanty towns struggling up the lower slopes of assorted peaks, here everything was just perfect, and could hardly have been more family friendly.

When lunchtime came there was a wide selection of restaurants a block or two back, some of them of the convenient à quilo (per kilo) kind, selling a variety of buffet dishes by weight, ideal for letting the children make their own choices, and we paid proportionally small amounts for the smaller volume consumed.

In a nearby Praça General Osório, the Sundays-only Feira Hippie or Hippy Market offered stalls with leather goods, T-shirts in all sizes, and assorted curiosities that kept the children amused. These included toy soldiers, wooden games, and plastic models of Rio's signature sight, the Cristo Redentor statue atop Corcovado Mountain, visible from almost every corner of the city, and a reminder that perfect as the beaches were, not all the city's high points were at sea level.

The top of Pão de Açúcar or Sugar Loaf, not far from the north end of Copacabana, was reached by a metro and bus combination. There were no half prices on transport and at sites, but usually children up to six could travel and enter for free.

The steep two-stage cable car journey via another hill to the top of the sheer-sided 396-metre-high peak was the highlight for the children, along with the sight of airliners turning sharply at eye-level before descending steeply to the handkerchief-sized Santos Dumont city airport jutting out into the bay far below.

Sugar Loaf stands at the mouth of the vast Guanabara Bay, giving views of dozens of beaches, and of waves of densely-packed, mostly low-rise buildings breaking dramatically against other island-like peaks right in the city's heart, including statue-topped Corcovado ("Hunchback").

At 710 metres and set further back from the coast, this offered even more impressive panoramas, as well as an ant's-eye-view of the 30-metre statue of Jesus, an Art Deco masterpiece of a calm and unexpectedly Scandinavian spareness, in complete contrast to the bustle and colour of the city below.

Getting there was another child-pleasing fun-fair ride, this time in the smart red-painted coaches of a century-old railway whose trains dragged themselves uphill on cogged track through an urban tropical forest tangled with vines and creepers, and past views of shanty towns tumbling off the tops of lower peaks.

But the best trip of all, in the children's opinion, was to ride Rio's last remaining tram line up to view the 19th-century hillside mansions of the gradually re-gentrifying district of Santa Teresa. As regular public transport it was a fraction of the cost of the other journeys, but tickets were still sold after all seats had been filled, and one child had to be temporarily adopted by a local resident, while father and other passengers were left standing on a running board and hanging on for dear life against rapid changes of direction and sudden stops and starts.

When, shortly after departure, the tram crossed the long, 18-metre high Arcos da Lapa former aqueduct, completed in 1750 and barely wider than the rattletrap vehicle itself, the children were thrilled by their father's unexpected high-wire antics.

But it was the beaches that were the biggest hit, and despite all the warnings to be cautious issued continually by Cariocas themselves, nothing spoiled those sun-drenched days which have already become perfect childhood memories. Requests for a return have already been received.

If you go to Brazil

MORE INFORMATION

-- The Sofitel Rio de Janeiro Copacabana (sofitel.com) also offers parent-pleasing packages of Johnson's baby-friendly toiletries for each child, and PlayStation and Wii systems for use in-room. Full beach tower and deckchair service is also provided at a corner of Copacabana directly across the road.

At a lower budget, fully equipped apartments are available to rent across the city, both as part of apartment-hotels (such as recommended Edificio Jucati (edificiojucati.com.br) and individual units in ordinary residential buildings. Rates on tourist-targeting English-language websites can be high, however, and better prices negotiated locally, especially at low season. Beware sites also offering "nightlife tours".

-- The Baixo Bebê section of Ipanema Beach (see atbaixobebeleblon.com.br), at the west end between lifeguard posts 11 and 12, features an enclosed playground for younger kids, diaper-changing facilities, and other entertainments. But the sea is a little too rough for swimming, and there are kinder waters around post 9.

-- Saara Market (metro Uruguaiana), source of materials for Rio's gaudy carnival costumes, is also likely to be a hit with children. Occupying several blocks it includes shops that sell nothing but buttons, beads, sequins, toys, Halloween costume materials beyond nightmares plus T-shirts and other souvenirs at low prices.

-- Modern Sound, a vast CD and record store in Copacabana (modernsound.com.br), has free live performances of samba, bossa nova, jazz, etc., at volumes safe for children's ears, typically from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays to Saturdays. Seating is in the store's cafe, which has child-friendly dishes and beverages on the menu.