Rio ‘Runseeing’ Tour: Parks & Sites

This is another ‘runseeing’ tour of Rio’s Centro area, mainly focused on its central parks and major sites. It’s a nice complement to the Architecture tour. It’s up to 14 km, but there are easy options to shorten. 2/3 of the route is on park or waterfront paths, and the rest is on ‘runnable’ streets.

Start at the waterfront Modern Art Museum. The first 4 km is a loop including the marina and paths in lovely Parque Brig. Eduardo Gomes along Flamengo Beach and Parque das Crianças. There are sports fields and nice walking paths. Then head north for 1 km, passing through Praça Paris, a nice landscaped park, and Passeio Público — the first public park in the Americas! Continue north along Av. Rio Branco, which has a nice pedestrian walkway, passing the National Library, Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, & the ornate Theatro Municipal. Turn LEFT on Rte. Sete de Setembro, toward Praça da República – Campo de Santana, and enjoy a 1.3 km loop around this 1800s park with mature trees and a small lake. Exit the park and head south toward the water — here, the option is to take one of the more ‘shopping’ type pedestrian streets like R. Sr. dos Passos, or the wider but less pleasant Av. Pres. Vargas.

The final section is an optional 3.5 km loop. When you reach the water at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, run north along the waterfront path, passing the 1600s Mosteiro de São Bento church, and then to the Boulevard Olímpico promenade, location of two spectacular waterfront museums: the Museu de Arte do Rio and the modern Museu do Amanhã. Our route ends at the Praça XV de Novembro.

Add-On: Paths along Flamengo Beach, headed south.