Parque Burle Marx: A Walk Through Panambi

Honestly, to really appreciate Parque Burle Marx (website), there’s nothing better than knowing its history.

The park sits on Avenida Dina Helena Pereira de Morais, 209, in Vila Andrade, and is open daily from 7 AM to 7 PM, with free admission.

Paid events occasionally take over the park and its parking lot — right now, for instance, there’s a Jurassic Park exhibit — and parking costs R$15, with a valet.

History of Parque Burle Marx

According to the records, back in the 1940s, businessman Francisco Matarazzo Pignatari bought a 15-hectare plot of land in Panambi, part of the old Chácara Tangará estate, for himself and his future wife, the Austrian princess Ira von Fürstenberg.

He then hired architect and landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx to design the garden of his home, an 8,000 m² residence already designed by Oscar Niemeyer — but in the process, Pignatari became involved with an Italian princess and broke things off with the Austrian one, which halted construction indefinitely.

Later, from the 1950s through the ’90s, the sale of the land went through several legal disputes before it finally became a publicly accessible park under private management by the Aron Birmann Foundation. Burle Marx restored the side garden of the original house. The residence Oscar Niemeyer had built was eventually torn down, and the Hotel Palácio Tangará was built in its place.

The Jardim do Pátio area, with its orthogonal layout, broad checkerboard lawn, and reflecting pools, was designed by Burle Marx, while the rest of the park was designed by landscape architect Rosa Kliass.

The park opened in 1995, spanning 138,000 square meters.

About the Park

The park leans more toward a contemplative stroll, preserving a stretch of Atlantic Forest that still survives within São Paulo — unlike Ibirapuera Park, there’s no cycling, skating, or space for ball games here.

The park has three well-maintained, clean dirt trails: Trail A at 342 meters, Trail B at 842 meters, and Trail C at 1,050 meters. A few wooden totem markers trace the trails from their shared starting point near the lake and continue along the way, though they can be a bit tricky to spot.

The park also includes a jabuticaba grove, a lake area with the main lake featuring, surprisingly, a floating island at its center. Rounding it out are a playground, a large central lawn, a community garden, a composting station, and, more recently, the Jardim Burle Marx.

The garden is beautiful, with reflecting pools, as we mentioned in the park’s history above. This is the most beautiful part of the walk — taking in the royal palms and the sheer grandeur of the space.

Next to the playground, there are kiosks and food trucks serving burgers, pasta, pastel, cakes, coconut water, and more, all in a well-organized area — so you won’t go hungry or thirsty.

A few important rules to keep in mind:

• No pets allowed
• Photo shoots require a fee
• Skateboards, bikes, and skates (up to 20” wheels) are allowed
• Picnics are allowed for groups of up to 10 people

Learn more about other parks in Cantareira State Park.