Brazil🇧🇷 | landmarksSítio Roberto Burle MarxPlanted color blocks, modernist landscape design, folk art house, guided tours only | things to do and best time to go

Sítio Roberto Burle Marx gives you a rare thing in Rio: a place where the plants are the main event and you hear the reasoning behind every bed. Burle Marx designed the Copacabana promenade pattern and the landscapes of Brasília, so seeing his own garden explains the look of much of urban Brazil. The property holds roughly 3,500 plant species, many collected on his expeditions into the Amazon and the Atlantic forest, and he helped bring tropical natives into modern design when imported European plants dominated. The tour also takes in his house, chapel and studio, so you leave understanding the person as well as the plants.

The site fits neatly into a day on the quiet southwestern edge of Rio. Barra de Guaratiba has seafood restaurants, a mangrove-fringed shoreline and the Restinga da Marambaia … read more 👉

Sítio Roberto Burle Marx gives you a rare thing in Rio: a place where the plants are the main event and you hear the reasoning behind every bed. Burle Marx designed the Copacabana promenade pattern and the landscapes of Brasília, so seeing his own garden explains the look of much of urban Brazil. The property holds roughly 3,500 plant species, many collected on his expeditions into the Amazon and the Atlantic forest, and he helped bring tropical natives into modern design when imported European plants dominated. The tour also takes in his house, chapel and studio, so you leave understanding the person as well as the plants.

The site fits neatly into a day on the quiet southwestern edge of Rio. Barra de Guaratiba has seafood restaurants, a mangrove-fringed shoreline and the Restinga da Marambaia views, so you can pair the guided visit with a long lunch. Because tour groups stay small and slots must be reserved, the grounds feel calm even in high season, which is hard to find at any major Rio attraction.