“A Portuguese king fleeing Napoleon founded this garden in 1808, and its towering palm avenue all descends from a single tree he planted.”
About Jardim Botânico
Dom Joao VI founded the garden in 1808 after the Portuguese court relocated to Rio to escape Napoleon, intending it to acclimatise valuable spice plants. The grand Avenue of Royal Palms grew from a single palm he planted, all later trees descended from it. Over two centuries the garden became a major centre of botanical science, holding thousands of tropical and subtropical species.
The Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro is a vast and beautiful green sanctuary at the foot of the city's forested mountains, founded over two centuries ago by the Portuguese crown. Famous above all for its imposing avenue of towering royal palms, it holds thousands of species of tropical plants amid lakes, fountains and the calls of monkeys and rare birds.
The Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro is a vast and beautiful green sanctuary at the foot of the city's forested mountains, founded over two centuries ago by the Portuguese crown.
A Garden Founded by a King
The garden was established in 1808 by Dom Joao VI, the Portuguese prince regent who had fled Napoleon's invasion and moved the royal court to Brazil, originally to acclimatise spices brought from the East Indies. Its centrepiece is the Avenue of Royal Palms, a row of over a hundred soaring palms grown from a single original tree planted by the king, stretching in a grand colonnade. The garden grew into one of the most important botanical collections in the tropics.
The Experience
You stroll shaded paths beneath the spectacular Avenue of Royal Palms, past orchid houses, a Japanese garden, lakes of giant water lilies and beds of tropical flora, often spotting marmosets, toucans and other wildlife drawn from the nearby Atlantic forest. The cool, green calm contrasts with the active city around it, with the Christ the Redeemer statue sometimes visible above. It is a serene retreat in central Rio.
Why It Matters
The Botanical Garden is one of the most important and beautiful botanical institutions in the tropics and a historic legacy of the Portuguese court in Brazil. A centre of science and a green lung for Rio, it embodies the country's extraordinary plant diversity and its colonial and royal heritage.
The Botanical Garden is one of the most important and beautiful botanical institutions in the tropics and a historic legacy of the Portuguese court in Brazil.
Why Visit
Rio's historic botanical garden, founded by a king in 1808, with its majestic royal palm avenue, thousands of tropical species and abundant wildlife.
✦ Insider Tips
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Walk the grand Avenue of Royal Palms, the garden's centrepiece.
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Visit the orchid house and giant water-lily ponds.
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Mornings are coolest and best for spotting animals.
