Brazil's oldest public park, Passeio Público, located along Beipa Mar Boulevard, was designed in 1779 and created in 1886 under the guidance of the famous Brazilian architect and sculptor Master Valentim da Fonseca. The French-style park has fountains, sculptures of mythical heroes, the "Source of Love" with two bronze crocodiles, stone stairs, two granite pyramids "Nostalgia for Rio" and "Love of the People" by Master Valentim. In 1864, by order of Emperor Pedro II, the French botanist Auguste François-Marie Glazeu carried out the reconstruction of the park. He created artificial ponds, winding alleys, bridges. The central alley of the park leads to a terrace on the seashore with a beautiful view of the Guanabar Bay.
The public garden adjoins the Cinelandia district, which has many magnificent buildings built in the first half of the 20th century in the French Beaux Arts style and was previously home to more than a dozen cinemas, which gave the name of the central square of the area - Cinelandia. In Cinelandia, you can visit the National Museum of Fine Arts, the National Library and the Palace of Pedro Ernesto.