The City Rio is on the west side of Guanabara Bay, which the first Portuguese, arriving in January, mistook for a river, hence the name Rio de Janeiro. The coast runs east-west here, so Rio has waterfront both on its east side, on the bay, and on its south side, on the Atlantic. The picture below shows the view from Fortaleza de Santa Cruz looking west toward Rio. On the left is P o de A car. The more distant high point in the center is Corcovado, with its famous statue of Christ on the top just visible as a speck in this picture.
Downtown is barely visible behind the fort.
However, most think the view from P o de A car is more beautiful, and this is reflected in its greater popularity. The pictures below are all from P o de A car. Here we look east from P o de A car. The spit of land on the right is Fortaleza de Santa Cruz. The city across the bay is Niteroi and suburbs.