Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
gaze at the passers-by. Summer evenings are especially popular when, on the west side
of the lagoon in the area known as the
Parque dos Patins
(Skaters' Park), there are food
stalls, live music and
forró
dancing.
1
Fundação Eva Klabin
Av Epitácio Pessoa 2480 • Tues-Sun 2-6pm • R$10; Sun free •
T
21 3202 8550,
W
evaklabin.org.br
One of the few remaining original homes in Lagoa now contains the
Fundação Eva
Klabin
cultural centre. The house was built in 1931, in the style of rural Normandy - a
popular fashion in house-building at the time - and became the family residence of Eva
Klabin, a wealthy art collector of Lithuanian origin. Visitors are taken on a guided tour
of the wide-ranging collection of Egyptian, classical Greek and Roman, Italian, French
and Flemish works of art, all beautifully displayed in elegant, wood-panelled rooms,
and classical music recitals are regularly held here.
Parque da Catacumba
Av Epitácio Pessoa 3000 • Tues-Sun 8am-5pm • Free •
W
parquedacatacumba.com.br
The steep slopes behind Lagoa's apartment buildings are still well forested, and in 1979
a
favela
was cleared away and the
Parque da Catacumba
developed in its place on one of
the more accessible hills, by the southeast corner of the lagoon on Avenida Epitácio
Pessoa. It's a wonderful, shaded place to relax, and the dense tropical vegetation forms
an excellent backdrop for one of Brazil's few
sculpture parks
.
Parque Lage
Rua Jardim Botânico 414 • Daily 8am-5pm • Free •
T
21 3257 1800 •
W
www.eavparquelage.rj.gov.br
To the northwest of the Lagoa, in the
bairro
of
Jardim Botânico
, the
Parque Lage
was
designed by the English landscape gardener John Tyndale in the early 1840s. The mansion
overlooking it was bought in 1920 by the aeronautics entrepreneur Henrique Lage, after
whom the park is named. Its 128 acres of foliage includes pristine Atlantic forest on the
slopes of the Corcovado, with a labyrinthine network of paths, and seven small lakes.
Jardim Botânico
Rua Jardim Botânico 1008 • Daily 8am-5pm • R$6 •
W
www.jbrj.gov.br
About halfway along the Rua Jardim Botânico, the
Jardim Botânico
itself consists
largely of natural forest. The rest is laid out in impressive avenues lined with immense
imperial palms that date from the garden's inauguration in 1808. Dom João used the
gardens to introduce foreign plants into Brazil - tea, cloves, cinnamon and pineapple
among them - and they were opened to the public in 1890. One of the world's finest
botanic gardens, it now contains five thousand plant species, among which live
monkeys, parrots and other assorted wildlife. There are also a number of sculptures to
be seen throughout the garden, notably the
Ninfa do Eco
and
Caçador Narciso
(1783)
by Mestre Valentim, the first two metal sculptures cast in Brazil.
The Jockey Club
Rua Jardim Botânico • Races Mon 6-11pm, Fri 4.30-9.30pm, Sat & Sun 2-8pm • Free
On the
Gávea
side of Lagoa, the
Jockey Club
, also known as the Hipódromo da Gávea,
can be reached on any bus marked “via Jóquei” - get off at Praça Santos Dumont at
the end of Rua Jardim Botânico. Racing in Rio was introduced by the British and dates
back to 1825, though the Hipódromo wasn't built until 1926. Today,
races
take place
four times a week, with the international Grande Prêmio Brazil taking place on the first
Sunday of August. A night at the races is great fun, especially during the floodlit
evening races, when the air is balmy and you can eat or sip a drink as you watch the
action, and visitors can get into the palatial members' stand for just a few
reís
(note that
no one in shorts is admitted).
