
TheΒ Catete Palace is an urban mansion in the neighborhood of Catete, inΒ Rio de Janeiro. The property stretches from Rua do Catete toΒ Flamengo Beach. Construction began in 1858 and ended in 1867. From 1894 to 1960, it wasΒ Brazil’s presidential palace, where the President resided when Rio was the capital of Brazil,Β and the place whereΒ GetΓΊlio VargasΒ committed suicide. It is now home to theΒ Museum of the Republic, and a theater; theΒ Catete metro station is adjacent to this landmark.
Meeting at 14:30h at Rio & Learn
Costs: R$ 6,80 (metro) + R$ 6,00 (Museum Ticket)
Different Stories in Catete Palace, Rio

Park Hours
(The museum and park are closed on Mondays)
8 am to 5 pm
Museum Hours
Tuesday to Friday: 10 am to 5 pm
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 11 am to 5 pm
Many different stories are told about this palace, especially concerning the death of GetΓΊlio Vargas whichΒ still holds some mysteries! Even if his death was ruled as a suicide, there are a lot of conspiracy theories about it! You will be able to see in the museum not only ancient furniture, documents and pictures, but also GetΓΊlio’s pyjamas with the bullet hole and the weapon used by him. As he said in his last farewell, he was βleaving life to enter historyβ.
The undeniable truth is thatΒ it is a very beautiful site withΒ awesome architecture, whereΒ people can learn a lot about Brazil and our transitions from aΒ monarchy to aΒ republic. It is a fantastic combination of nature and architecture in an urban setting. You will not only learn about history and visit the palace, one of Rio’s treasures for nature lovers are the gardens of PalΓ‘cio do Catete. Grassy lawns, lots of trees, with a lake and even a cave! You can rest in the shade of 19th century palm trees and even interact with some wildlife such as ducks and little marmoset monkeys.
In this activity we will walk through the quiet, charming park belonging to the palace, and work our way towards the insideΒ of the building. It isΒ aΒ nice place to relax,Β talk, practice our Portuguese,Β enjoy the company of our colleagues, all while visitingΒ the last presidential palace ofΒ Rio de Janeiro. How about weΒ go andΒ see thisΒ wonderful place? Come with us and enjoyΒ another interesting and historical landmark inΒ Rio with ourΒ RioLIVE! Activity.
See here our last visits to Parque do Catete:
