The Olympic Games will take place from Aug 5th to Aug 21st. in Rio de Janeiro, the "Cidade Maravilhosa" (Marvellous City), in Brazil. If you are coming to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games, you might want to do some tourism in town. Here are some of the best options for you, in the point of view of someone who has been living here for 6 years, which may be different and complimentary to the things you read on travelling articles on the Internet. But, first of all, you should know we usually call the city Rio, and we pronounce it more or less like "Heel". If you have further questions, I will try to be active on the comments section, ok?
Here we go:
Cristo Redentor - Christ the Redeemer - it is considered one of the 7 wonders of the modern world and offers one of the best views of the entire city (except for Barra da Tijuca, which is far away, beyond some mountains). It is placed at the top of the Corcovado. If you are a nature lover, you should go by walk, starting at Parque Lage (it is a 90 minutes walk straight ahead, in a path through the nature. It is not hard to do it, believe me, since you can go slowly and appreciate the nature meanwhile. And it is safe. By the way, Parque Lage is my favorite park in Rio de Janeiro.
Pão de Açúcar - Sugar Loaf - in my opinion, the most beautiful sightseeing attraction in Rio de Janeiro. Half the altitude of Cristo Redentor, but (or therefore) a marvellous view. If you don't have enough money to spend at the Sugar Loaf, you should know you can freely go by walk to the top of Morro da Urca, which is smaller than Sugar Loaf, but already has a good view. If you love sightseeing and have enough time, you should go to Vista Chinesa as well.
Copacabana Beach is a public, traditional beach, full of stories, known for the beautiful sidewalk in front of the beach, where astonishing girls and boys walk and exercise. It is located in the heart of the luxurious Zona Sul neighborhood.
Ipanema Beach - near Copacabana beach - it is known for the song Garota de Ipanema (The Girl from Ipanema). It is the same thing of Copacabana Beach, but less crowded.
Lapa - you should spend one night at this bohemian neighborhood, which is known for its bars and nightlife, especially (but not only) related to samba (the typical music). Don't really expect for clubs, even though there are some nightclubs.
Santa Teresa - People say the experient tourists usually like to find an accomodation at the neighborhood of the hilly Santa Teresa, for its nice views and nice bohemian and calm atmosphere. It has preserved the colonial architecture for 2 centuries like no other place, except, maybe, Lapa and downtown, where the atmosphere, however, is completely different. There are sidewalk mosaics, palatial mansions and artsy galleries worth a while.