São Cristóvão Palace
Home of emperors.
PortugalBrasil — CC BY-SA 4.0 · João Calandrini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · PortugalBrasil — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Beatriz Carvalho Cotrim de Moraes — CC BY-SA 4.0
Quinta da Boa Vista, «the estate of the good view», is a public park of great historic weight in São Cristóvão, in Rio's North Zone. The land was once part of a Jesuit farm; around 1803 a wealthy Portuguese merchant built a house on a hill with a view of Guanabara Bay and gave it to the Prince Regent John VI when the Portuguese court arrived in Rio in 1808. Enlarged between 1816 and 1821, the house became the São Cristóvão Palace, residence of the King of Portugal and then of Brazil's emperors in the 19th century. After the Republic the palace housed the National Museum, but a huge fire on 2 September 2018 destroyed about 80% of its collection of some 20 million items. Rebuilding is going ahead in stages; parts opened temporarily for an exhibition in 2025, and the full reopening has been put back to 2029. The park itself remains a free family outing with gardens, lakes and paths, and at its far end is the BioParque do Rio zoo, whose entrance now carries the ornate English gate given by the Duke of Northumberland.
Home of emperors.
A family outing.
The zoo.
São Cristóvão district, North Zone, Rio de Janeiro
BioParque do RioBioParque do Rio is Rio de Janeiro's zoo, renovated and renamed, at the back of 9 minutes walk4.1
Feira de São CristóvãoThe Feira de São Cristóvão, officially the Luiz Gonzaga Centre of Northeastern T11 minutes walk4.7
Maracanã StadiumMaracanã is Brazil's most famous football stadium, officially the Estádio Jornal15 minutes walk4.6The building is being rebuilt after the 2018 fire; parts opened temporarily in 2025, and the full reopening is put back to 2029. The park itself is open and free.