Cabo Frio is the main town of the Região dos Lagos, the lagoon and beach country east of Rio de Janeiro, and one of the oldest settlements in Brazil. It is busier and more ordinary than its neighbours, Búzios and Arraial do Cabo, but it has the region's biggest beach and a character of its own.
Praia do Forte runs for kilometres of fine white sand in front of the town, ending at the Forte São Mateus, built by the Portuguese in the seventeenth century to keep French traders out of the brazilwood business. Behind the town lies the Lagoa de Araruama, one of the largest hypersaline lagoons in the world, once lined with salt pans — a few windmills still stand. The Canal do Itajuru, lined with boats and restaurants, links the lagoon to the sea.
Cabo Frio gets very busy in summer and on holiday weekends, when half of Rio seems to arrive. Its better beaches, like Praia do Peró and the dunes behind it, are just north of town.