If you love nature and are always amazed by its magic and power of adaptation, or if you are only trying to have a quiet moment by yourself, today we bring you suggestions of some of the best botanical gardens you must visit in Lisbon that will help you to have a rest from all the daily’s life noise. Admiring nature is always a sure way. There is no room for disappointment, just for delightment!

Lisbon Botanical Garden

Since 2010 that the Botanical Garden of Lisbon, located at Monte Olivete, is considered a National Monument. The chosen location for this garden had more than two centuries of tradition in the study of Botany, started with the Jesuit College of Cotovia, here based between 1609 and 1759.

The Botanical Garden of Lisbon is a scientific garden that was designed in the middle of the 19th century to complement modern and useful teaching and research in botany at Escola Politécnica (polytechnic school). Started to be planted in 1837 with an enormous diversity of plants coming from the four corners of the world in which there were territories under Portuguese sovereignty, the importance of the colonial power that Portugal then represented, but which in Europe was only a small and marginal nation, was the patent.

Now a days, since the last big intervention on the late 30s, the primitive systematic ordering of the upper plane of the Garden was replaced by the grouping of species into ecological sets. They serve various branches of botanical research, demonstrate to the public and schools the great diversity of plant forms and multiple ecological processes, while representing an important and effective means of conserving endangered plants.

The Garden is particularly rich in tropical species from New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan and South America, which attests to the mildness of Lisbon’s climate and the peculiarities of the microclimates created. So if you’re looking for some privacy and delight in the heart of Lisbon, Lisbon Botanical garden is in stark contrast to its hustle and bustle, with its colors and shadows, the smells and sounds. Walk around the remarkable diversity of palm trees, coming from all continents, gives unexpected tropical character to several locations in the Garden. Find the Cycads that are one of the ex-libris of the Garden. Get back in time with the authentic living fossils, that represent ancient floras, most of which have become extinct.

Lisbon Tropical Botanical Garden

Located in Lisbon, in the monumental area of Belém, in a space of farms and recreational houses of the Portuguese nobility from the 16th to the 18th centuries, next to the Jerónimos Monastery, it occupies a total area of about 7 acres, integrating a Botanical Park open to the public with 5 acres. The garden is classified as a National Monument.

Since 2015, the Tropical Botanical Garden has been part of the University of Lisbon, currently managed jointly with the Museum of Natural History and Science and the Lisbon Botanical Garden and developing activities of a scientific, educational, cultural and leisure nature, within the scope of preservation and enhancement of heritage and the diffusion of scientific culture on tropical science and the history and memory of science and technology in Portuguese discoveries, expansion and colonization.

The Park and Greenhouses of the Tropical Botanical Garden bring together a group of about 600 species from all over the world, such as dragon trees from the Canary and Madeira Islands and monkey puzzle trees from South America. Most species are of tropical or subtropical origin, however, there are some originating in temperate regions. Most of them are labelled, so a visit here can also be a learning experience.

Lisbon Cold Greenhouse – Eduardo VII Park

Inside the Eduardo VII Park, on the top of the beautiful Liberdade avenue, you can find one of the most peaceful and pleasant places in Lisbon, where you can take a walk alone or with your family among the small lakes, small caves and the tall plants that make up such a beautiful setting that it almost seems like a lie. The place we are talking about is the Estufa Fria de Lisboa (Lisbon Cold Greenhouse), it really feels like being in a mini forest, where you can feel the fresh air!

The Cold Greenhouse is the main area, and its name indicates the fact that there is no heating system. It has an immovable wooden slat that protects plants from the rigors of winter and the intense heat of summer. The slat conditions the light intensity, providing an ideal temperature to accommodate species from various parts of the world, such as China, Australia, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, the West Indies and the Korean Peninsula. The camellia, azalea and the Tasmanian tree fetus stand out.

Although it is known for its cold greenhouse, in fact, this plant paradise hosts three different greenhouses to ensure that species from around the world are well looked after. Therefore, there’s also an hot greenhouse and, imagine, a sweet greenhouse!

The hot greenhouse, which has its glass cover that allows air to be heated, is the place that receives plants originating from tropical climates, such as the coffee tree, the mango tree and the banana tree. And lastly, there is the sweet greenhouse, which is small, but no less interesting: that is where the cacti live!

Monserrate Palace’s Park

Outside the city of Lisbon but in its region, only a 30 minutes’ drive away of the city, within the Natural and Protected Park of Sintra-Cascais, you can also find amazing and enormous botanical gardens: amazing examples of the Romantic Gardens.

If the Monserrate Palace, a unique testimony to the eclecticism of the 19th century, one of the most beautiful architectural creations of Romanticism in Portugal, with its Gothic, Indian and Moorish influences, do not easily take you to the other side of the world, the gardens will certainly ensure this trip.

The lush park that extends the exotic and plant motifs to the exterior of the palace, features species from the four corners of the world organized by geographic areas: it has a warm area with plants from Central America (Mexico Garden), a Valley of ferns, a rose garden, and a Japanese Garden. Discover the garden that was the first to have an irrigation system in Portugal, stroll through the ponds that are placed at different heights so that they have waters of different temperatures or discover the rose gardens that the nobles’ thought was a sufficient way to hide bad odours. The lawn, opposite the palace, allows a relaxing break during the discovery of one of the richest Portuguese botanical gardens. It is a trip around the world without leaving Sintra.

Pena Palace’s Park

In the same area we also have the one-of-a-kind Park and Palace of Pena, which besides being the most unique of European palaces, is another outstanding representative of XIX century romanticism and has the most incredible, beautiful and very representative botanical garden in the Lisbon area. In addition to the beautiful love story behind its construction, it is said that King Fernando II was also jealous of the gardens of the Palace of Monserrate, using that jealousy as an inspiration for his work.

The Park and Palace of Pena combine the search for exoticism with the fascination with nature. Among exotic trees and native species, discover the various monuments that form an unmissable set.

These mythical 85 acres park is made up of several gardens and landscaped areas with native and exotic species from all over the world. It also has an extensive water system that includes waterfalls, tanks, lakes, and fountains, along with small decorative buildings located in the park.

The magnificent views of this historic park underline the romantic surroundings, whose capacity to seduce and to amaze, more than a century later, remains alive.

Thanks to this article ‘Magic Gardens: Best 5 Botanical Gardens to visit in Lisbon Region’, you do not need to spend hours searching for information anymore. You have everything you need to have a splendid staying in Lisbon! Also, which of the Gardens are you most excited to visit first? Let me know by leaving a quick comment below.