Sítio Roberto Burle Marx Museum

Address: Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, Barra de Guaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Website: https://sitioburlemarx.org.br

Hours: Visits by prior appointment (often limited to guided tours)

Admission: Guided visits by appointment (fees may apply)

Sítio Roberto Burle Marx is the former home, garden and plant collection of the Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, located in the Barra de Guaratiba area of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. The property is recognised for its extensive collections of native Brazilian plants and for Burle Marx’s modernist landscape designs.

Visitors encounter designed gardens with terraces, specimen plantings and sculptural hardscape, plus the artist’s studio and house with period furnishings. The site preserves living collections and nursery areas that illustrate Burle Marx’s work in plant selection, composition and conservation.

Roberto Burle Marx developed the site across much of the 20th century as a working garden and laboratory for gardening ideas, acquiring and cultivating native species and experimenting with planting compositions. The property is now owned and managed by an institute that preserves the gardens, house and plant collections and presents them to researchers and the public.

The Sítio sits in the Barra de Guaratiba district on the western side of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, adjacent to coastal lowlands and Atlantic Forest fragments. It is west of central Rio de Janeiro city and accessed from the city’s western suburbs.

• UNESCO status: Designated a UNESCO World Heritage property in 2021 for its significance as the home and landscape of Roberto Burle Marx.
• Visiting arrangements: Access is organised - the site is managed by the Instituto Roberto Burle Marx and public visits are generally by guided tour or organised opening times.

What to See#

• Main house and studio: The main residential house and studio complex contains Burle Marx’s living quarters, workspace and displays of modernist interior fittings and artworks developed while he lived at the site.
• Gardens and plant collections: The designed gardens cover varied planted terraces, rock gardens and arranged vistas featuring a large collection of native Brazilian species established across the 20th century.
• Nursery and propagation areas: An operational plant nursery and propagation area on the property preserves and cultivates living specimens used in Burle Marx’s landscape experiments and plant exchanges.

The Sítio is located in Barra de Guaratiba, roughly 40-50 minutes’ drive from Zona Sul (depending on traffic). Visits are generally by prior arrangement and many tours originate from central Rio de Janeiro.

Public transport options are limited; most visitors reach the site by car or organized tour. Confirm appointment and entry requirements on the official website before traveling.

• Book visits well in advance-public tours are limited and the site is often closed to unsupervised visits.
• Pay attention to the garden's plant palette-Burle Marx favored bold, sculptural species and native Brazilian plants.
• Visit the small on-site exhibition to learn about restoration efforts after the 1990s and early 2000s acquisitions.