Copacabana Palace

The Copacabana Palace is a hotel facing Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, designed by the French architect Joseph Gire, who drew on the Hotel Negresco in Nice and the Carlton Hotel in Cannes as models, and opened on August 13, 1923. It was built at the initiative of Brazil's government to provide accommodation for visitors to the International Exposition marking the centenary of Brazilian independence, and construction was delayed by difficulties importing Carrara marble and Bohemian crystal and by storm damage to its foundations in 1922. The hotel's casino, later closed under Brazilian law, was central to its early fame among international visitors. Declared a protected cultural property in 1985, the Copacabana Palace is now operated as part of the Belmond hotel group.