Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden

At a glance

What the garden is

The garden was founded on 13 June 1808 by decision of the Portuguese prince regent, Dom João. The plan was a gunpowder factory plus a garden to acclimatise plants from other parts of the world: vanilla, cinnamon and black pepper first, and later tea, grown here in the 1820s and 1830s. The avenue of royal palms (Roystonea oleracea), the garden’s best known image, was planted under director Bernardo Serpa Brandão, in charge from 1829 to 1851. Botanist João Barbosa Rodrigues ran the garden for nearly 20 years from 1890 and set up the herbarium and the library.

It is still a research institute. Since 2012 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea”, and UNESCO notes that the garden kept its original neoclassical layout with straight avenues.

What to see

• The palm avenue (Aleia Barbosa Rodrigues), the classic photo spot.
• The greenhouses for orchids, bromeliads, ferns and insect-eating plants.
• The Japanese Garden, started in 1935 with a gift of 65 Japanese plants.
• Mestre Valentim’s statues of Echo and Narcissus, and the old Academy of Fine Arts portal designed by Grandjean de Montigny.
• Birds: Riotur recommends the garden for birdwatching.

Short on time? We would start with the palm avenue and the Japanese Garden.

Opening hours

Rio Botanical Garden tickets and rules

Tickets are sold online at jbrj.eleventickets.com (PIX or credit card) and at the box offices (PIX and cash only). The official site lists the current fee and conditions. Museum tickets are booked on the same site.

Garden rules worth knowing:

• do not feed the animals, bring in or take out plants, or carve the trees;
• eating is allowed only at the tables by the playground and at the cafés;
• the garden restaurant closed on 26 May 2026 and no reopening date had been given when we checked, so bring water and a snack;
• a wheelchair can be requested in advance from the Visitor Centre (Centro de Visitantes).

Entrances and getting there

City buses 105, 112, 309, 410, 439, 538, 548, 583 and 584 serve the garden, and lines 409 and 416 stop near the Pacheco Leão, 915 gate. There is no general visitor car park. The Jockey Club car park (entrances at Rua Jardim Botânico, 1003 and Praça Santos Dumont, 31) gives a discount if you ask for a stamp at the garden box office. Cars may drive in at gate 1008 to drop off visitors with reduced mobility, which makes a private driver an easy option for older travellers.

How long to stay

Half a day works for most visitors. The garden’s self-guided theme trails, such as Palms or Atlantic Forest, take about 1 hour 30 minutes, and the Historical trail about 2 hours 30 minutes.

The garden also runs a guided walk, the Trilha Histórica, every day at 10:00 and 14:00 except Friday (Wednesday at 14:00 only), plus themed walks on Fridays at the same times. The site does not say which languages these walks use.

If walking is hard, electric carts run Thursday to Tuesday 9:00-16:00 and Wednesday 11:00-16:00: a private cart for up to 7 people for an hour or 30 minutes, or a shared loop every 15 minutes. Cart tickets are sold at the box office in cash; online booking is only for Brazilian citizens with a CPF.

With children

The playground sits in the ruins of the old gunpowder factory, with wooden toys and a sandpit for children up to 10, plus benches, tables and toilets. More ideas for a family trip are on Rio with kids.

Nearby: Parque Lage and the trail to Christ

Parque Lage, part of Tijuca National Park, is on the same street at Rua Jardim Botânico, 414 and opens 8:00 to 18:00. The trail to Christ the Redeemer starts here. The park says it takes up to about four hours, with some very steep sections but no climbing, and you must start by 15:00. It is not recommended for children under 10 or people not used to hiking. We would not do it alone the first time; see guided hikes in Rio.

How we help

We put the garden into a private tour of Rio with a guide who speaks your language and a driver, on a day and hour that suit it (avoid Wednesday mornings). It pairs well with the lagoon, Ipanema or the Tijuca Forest. Terms and payment are set out in the proposal; you pay nothing before you confirm.

What to tell us in your request

• Your dates in Rio
• How many people, and children’s ages
• Anyone who finds long walks hard
• Garden only, or combined with Parque Lage, the Christ trail or a city tour
• Where you are staying
• The language your guide should speak