Glória, Catete and the Aterro do Flamengo

From the hilltop Glória church down to the former presidential palace of Catete and its garden, through Largo do Machado to Burle Marx's Aterro do Flamengo park, ending at the WWII monument and Reidy's modernist MAM.

Best time: Wednesday to Sunday (the Museu da República opens Wed-Sun 11:00-17:00, its garden daily 08:00-18:00; MAM opens Wed-Sun). On Sundays the Aterro's roads are closed to cars.

The route, stop by stop

1. 1
   Outeiro da Glória Church

   Hilltop church on a 1699 land grant, one of the jewels of Brazilian colonial architecture, visible from all of the Aterro. 20 min

   A colonial church on the hill of Glória, considered one of the jewels of Brazilian colonial architecture and visible from the whole Aterro.

2. 2
   Palácio do Catete (Museum of the Republic)

   Presidential palace until the capital moved to Brasília in 1960, now the museum of the Republic; free entry. Museum Wed-Sun 11:00-17:00, garden daily 08:00-18:00. 60 min

   The 19th-century Neoclassical palace that was the presidential seat until 1960; it saw key events of Brazilian history, including the suicide of Getúlio Vargas in 1954. Its…

3. 3
   Largo do Machado

   Busy square on the Catete-Flamengo-Laranjeiras border, with the metro entrance and old institutions such as the Cinema São Luís gallery around it. 10 min

4. 4
   Aterro do Flamengo

   Rio's largest public park and the world's largest urban seaside park, designed by Affonso Reidy with gardens by Roberto Burle Marx and finished in 1965; walk north along the bay. 40 min

   A 1.2 million m2 park built on land reclaimed from the bay in 1965, designed by Affonso Reidy with landscaping by Roberto Burle Marx and more than 12,000 trees. Cariocas use it…

5. 5
   Monumento aos Pracinhas

   National monument to Brazil's WWII dead, holding the remains of soldiers who fell in Italy. 15 min

6. 6
   Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM Rio)

   Reidy's 1955 concrete building with Burle Marx gardens; free entry Wed-Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 11:00-18:00 (last entry 17:30). 60 min

Walking directions

More walks in Rio de Janeiro

• Praça XV to São Bento: the colonial and imperial centre1.6 km · 3 h
• Pequena África and the port: Valongo, Pedra do Sal and Morro da Conceição2.5 km · 5 h 20 min
• Cinelândia to Lapa: belle époque avenues, the aqueduct and the Selarón steps2.4 km · 3 h 20 min
• Santa Teresa by bonde and on foot2 km · 3 h 40 min
• Urca: Praia Vermelha, the Cláudio Coutinho path and the Mureta at sunset4.5 km · 3 h
• Leme to Arpoador along Copacabana beach6.4 km · 4 h 30 min
• Ipanema to Leblon: bossa nova streets and the Mirante5.3 km · 3 h 10 min
• Parque Lage, the Botanical Garden and the Lagoa3.4 km · 4 h
• Tijuca Forest: Cascatinha and the Mayrink chapel1.2 km · 1 h 20 min
• Laranjeiras and Cosme Velho: Parque Guinle to the Corcovado train3.8 km · 2 h 20 min
• Niterói by ferry: Caminho Niemeyer to the MAC4.1 km · 2 h 50 min