Rio De Janeiro Botanical Gardens

A must see if you come to Rio. Plan to spend 3 hours or more here. Cacti section, tall palms, lake with massive fish...But its really well done. Also enjoy the views up to Christ the redeemer statue aka Cristo De Redento.

You can get a bus direct from Copacabana and Ipanema.

Up the road 15 minutes is Parque Lage, interesting for its main building inside and there is a trek which goes all the way up to Corcovado! Not often made these days but the path is good. It takes a good pair of hiking boots but I did it in flip flops in 1 hr 30. You should take hiking boots and take longer to do it.