For those who want to discover one of the most charming and secret corners of Rio de Janeiro — and understand that this city holds, in its gardens and forests, a beauty that rivals any postcard.
Hidden at the foot of Corcovado and framed by the Tijuca Forest, Parque Lage is one of those places that locals keep with almost jealous affection — a refuge of dense Atlantic Forest, springs, caves, and natural pools surrounding one of the most unique and fascinating buildings in the city.
A secret that deserves to be discovered slowly, with attention and the gaze of someone who knows how to appreciate the extraordinary in detail.
The eclectic mansion that occupies the heart of the park was built in the early 20th century by businessman Henrique Lage for his wife, Italian soprano Gabriella Besanzoni — a declaration of love in stone and gardens that time has transformed into one of the most romantic stories in Rio's history.
Today the headquarters of the School of Visual Arts, the palace preserves its original architecture with an elegance that impresses, and its inner courtyard — with the pool reflecting the arches and vegetation — is one of the most photographed and genuinely beautiful frames in the city. Art, history, and architecture in a combination that is rarely found with such naturalness and perfection.
Around, the park expands along the slope of Corcovado in a succession of gardens, trails, and nooks that reveal, with each step, an increasingly dense and surprising nature. Caves covered in moss, natural pools of fresh water, bromeliads, and orchids punctuate the vegetation, and the constant sound of birds and the waters flowing down the mountain compose an atmosphere of serenity and beauty that contrasts, almost unrealistically, with the Rio that exists just minutes away.
And in the background, framing everything with its serene and imposing presence, the Christ the Redeemer — as if the park were also its garden.