Parque dos Patins

Parque dos Patins and the Lagoa

After the garden, the afternoon opens at the Parque dos Patins, a park on the western shore of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas — the large tidal lagoon that sits at the heart of the Zona Sul, connected to the ocean by a narrow canal. The lagoon's name comes from Rodrigo de Freitas, the 17th-century landowner who acquired it from earlier colonial hands; before that it was known to the Tamoio people as Sacopenapã, meaning "path of the herons." The park itself occupies the site of the former Tivoli Park and opened in 1995; it is essentially the lagoon's main leisure shore, with a skate rink, food kiosks, a cycling circuit, and open grass running to the water. From here the whole southern arc of the lagoon is visible, with the green flanks of the mountains behind — an improbably serene middle ground between Ipanema, Leblon, and Gávea.

This is a natural lunch stop. The kiosks along the water serve everything from açaí to grilled fish; a longer lunch with a view over the lagoon is easily arranged.