sinuousNiemeyer Avenue, Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, Botanical Garden, Corcovado Mountain,Jockey Club and Copacabana Beach. Woow! Is that enough?! What a place!Rodrigo de Freitas LagoonLying just close to Ipanema and Leblon, the Lake is actually a saltwater lagoon and a favoured destination foregrets as well as joggers and cyclists looping around the 7.5km-long shorelinepath. In the evening, outdoor restaurants near the lakes edge make a finesetting, great spot, for a sundowner, particularly Palaphita Kitch, anopen-air, thatched-roof wonderland with rustic bamboo furniture, flickeringtiki torches and a peaceful gardenlike setting on the edge of the lake. This isa popular spot with couples, who come for the creative, tasty and priceycocktails and the fine views. You can run, walk, skate or cycle the 7.5kmaround this freshwater lake and then retire to your luxurious penthouseapartment, or just imagine it! Some have been known to swim in it althoughpollution levels are not so low. Around Lagoa you can rent cycles, swan-shapedpedalos and, on the western side near where the helicopters take off, electriccars for the kids. Mostly known as Lagoa, considered to be TheHeart of Rio de Janeiro, is alagoon and district in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Its neighborhood is anupper middle-class and it has one of the largest human development indexes inthe country. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea waterto enter by a channel along the edge of a park locally known as Alah Garden.With 2.4 million square meters (0.93 square miles) of surface area, aquaticsports such as rowing or simply biking happen around its reflecting water. Itis home to a rowing stadium, a paved biking path of 7.5 kilometers (more than4.5 miles), diverse leisure equipment, and food kiosks that offer regional andinternational gastronomy items. Some of the most important sports clubs in thecity are by the lagoon. It attracts quite a number of visitors during theChristmas holidays due to its famous and gigantic Christmas Tree, which isbuilt over a floating platform that moves around the lagoon and during thenight, lightning lamps installed from bottom to top, flash, blink and changemultiple colors.Botanical Garden A few blocks west of Lagoa, the exotic BotanicalGardens occupy 137 hectares and blossomed thanks to Dom Joao VI himself, who byroyal decree, ordered the gardens creation in 1808. Over 5000 tropical speciesare on view, including a fine orchid collection and the stunningly largeVitoria Regia water lilies in the Amazonas section. This Botanical Garden isone of the greatest tropical botanical gardens and arboretums of the world andone of the most beautiful and best-preserved green areas in the city. The 137-hectarepark lies at the foot of the Corcovado Mountain and is an example of thediversity of Brazilian and foreign flora with more than 6,000 different speciesof tropical and subtropical plants and trees, including 900 varieties of palmtrees. Dom Joao VI, prince regent of the United Kingdom of Brazil and Portugal,for introduction and acclimatizing economic beneficial plants brought from theWest Indies, the garden is an excellent place to visit in Rio de Janeiro forthose who wish to contemplate nature. The park, designated as a biospherereserve by UNESCO in 1992,