Lisbon Chronicles | 5 Gardens You Can't Miss

Lisbon has many gardens scattered trough the city. Renaissance gardens embellishing palaces, botanical gardens, parks and landscaped modernist projects, you will find awesome places of every sort where you can relax in the shade, have a drink or a light meal, read a book or even take a nap. These are just a few and some of my favorite.



ESTRELA'S GARDEN

Situated in Estrela district this naturalistic garden follows the romantic design of the English parks. With over 11 acres, the garden was inaugurated in 1852 and was a popular site for the inhabitants of Lisbon in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Today is a lovely place to take the children on weekends, to rest, enjoying its tranquility,  to read or to jog. It presents a great diversity of vegetable species and still keeps most of the statuary from the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. It has a play ground, lakes (with ducks), a bandstand (that was originally on Passeio Público - today's Avenida da Liberdade) and also a kiosk and a restaurant with a terrace over the lake. Read more...

PALÁCIO FRONTEIRA'S GARDEN

The majestic garden of Palácio Fronteira, with about 13 acres,  is breathtaking for its amazing details and design. In a day full of the beautiful Lisbon light, this sumptuous Italian gardens will make you want to stay forever, so you better schedule your visit with enough time to enjoy so much beauty. Wondering through the garden you'll get lovely views of the statues, buildings and plants, finding a photo opportunity at every turn. Read more...

AJUDA'S BOTANICAL GARDEN

Although Lisbon has been place of many gardens that harbored collections of plants from Africa, Asia and America, the Ajuda's Botanical Garden was the first Portuguese Botanical Garden designed with  scientific  purposes  and in order to  collect as many species of the plants possible (it came to have 5000 species).

The garden has an area of ​​almost 4ha and an architecture that follows the Renaissance models, with carved terraces on the hillside. The light reflected from the river renders even more beautiful its decorative elements in carved stone, scattered among the plants, particularly on the stairs, and on the water fountains and ponds. Read more...

GULBENKIAN'S GARDEN

No other garden in the city is so dear to me like the garden of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.  Built in the 60s, according to the design of landscape architects António Viana Barreto and Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles, this garden is one of the most emblematic gardens of the modern movement in Portugal and a reference to the Portuguese landscape architecture.

Large spaces, different ambiences, light and shade, beautiful views of the lake and a perfect harmony make of this garden a place to rest, to read and study, to love and dream. Read more...

PRÍNCIPE REAL GARDEN

The neighborhood of Principe Real (it means Royal Prince and the name was given in honor of the prince D. Pedro, son of D. Maria II and who was to become Dom Pedro V) is one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city of Lisbon. The gardens and quiet squares lined with colorful palaces, the antique shops, restaurants and bars, tourists who walk and senior citizens playing deck in the shade of trees all contribute to its undeniable charm. Read more...