Laranjeiras and Cosme Velho: Parque Guinle to the Corcovado train

The leafy valleys behind Flamengo: the gardens and Lúcio Costa housing of Parque Guinle, the state government palace, the Queen's fountain and the hidden Largo do Boticário, ending at the rack railway station for Christ the Redeemer.

Best time: A weekday morning, finishing with a booked Corcovado train (daily 08:00-18:00, every 20 minutes).

The route, stop by stop

1. 1
   Parque Guinle

   Former gardens of the Guinle mansion, designed by Gérard Cochet with later Burle Marx touches; Lúcio Costa's Parque Guinle residential buildings stand inside. Entrance on Rua Gago Coutinho. 30 min

   The 1920s gardens of the Guinle palace (now the governor's residence), with a lake, ducks and swans, framed by Lúcio Costa's modernist apartment blocks, a forerunner of…

2. 2
   Palácio Guanabara

   Seat of the Rio de Janeiro state government on Rua Pinheiro Machado, begun in 1853 (formerly Paço Isabel); view it from the street. 10 min

3. 3
   Bica da Rainha

   19th-century fountain at Rua Cosme Velho 381 named after Queen Maria I, who came to drink its water. 10 min

   A 19th-century spout channelling the waters of the Rio Carioca, believed to cure ailments; Queen Maria I came here for them, hence the name. Listed by IPHAN in 1938, it is a…

4. 4
   Largo do Boticário

   Small square reached by the Beco do Boticário and a footbridge over the Carioca river, with neocolonial houses in Atlantic forest; named after the royal family's apothecary, who moved here around 1831. 20 min

   A hidden cluster of neocolonial houses reached by a narrow alley and a little bridge over the Rio Carioca, one of the few places where the river still runs in the open. Abandoned…

5. 5
   Trem do Corcovado station (Cosme Velho)

   Rua Cosme Velho 513: the 1884 rack railway up to Christ the Redeemer (adult ticket BRL 134 on the official site in October 2026, includes monument entry; check in 40 minutes before your slot). 15 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
• Glória, Catete and the Aterro do Flamengo4.4 km · 4 h 30 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
• Niterói by ferry: Caminho Niemeyer to the MAC4.1 km · 2 h 50 min