Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Parque Lage

Beautiful public park off the beaten path and away from tourists.

A public park in Rio de Janeiro, Parque Lage is tucked at the foot of the Corcovado in the Jardim Botanico neighborhood. It has been featured in music videos for Pharell Williams, Snoop Dogg, and the Black Eyed Peas, but remains relatively quiet as its out of the way for most tourists.

Once owned by industrialist Enrique Lage and his wife, a famous singer during her time, the mansion was remodeled in the 1920s by Italian architect Mario Vodrel. Decades later, in the 1960s, the land was converted into a public park and walking trails were installed through the subtropical forests of Tijuca National Park that surround the mansion. Monkeys can be seen feasting in the trees high above the trails. The grounds also include musty old stables, a mysterious cave, a castle-like tower, a massive aquarium.

The mansion now houses an art school, the Escola de Artes Visuals do Parque Lage (Visual Arts School of Parque Lage), which showcases galleries of student art to visitors and hosts a courtyard cafe.

Also, from the back-end of the park begins a hiking trail that leads to the top of Corcovado, just below Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor in Brazilian Portuguese), passing by waterfalls on your way up.