lagoa is in the heart of the south zone of rio de janeiro, with christ on corcovado, ipanema to the south, copacabana and botafogo to the east and the vast expanse of tijuca national park to the west - the neighborhood is named after its dominant geographical feature, lagoa rodrigo de freitas, the rodrigo de freitas lagoon.

as a result of this, it is one of the premier outdoor leisure spots in rio - with the most popular parks being parque do cantagalo, parque das taboas, parque da catacumba and parque dos patins.