"Although covering 10 acres, this enchanting botanical garden in the Principe Real district is almost invisible from the surrounding streets.
Laid out between 1858 and 1873, it was once considered the best botanical garden in Southern Europe.
Today, although showing some clear signs of neglect, it still has one of the largest collections of subtropical vegetation in Europe.
Its dense vegetation and exotic plants make it one of the most calming spots in the city, with over 18,000 species from all over the world (each one is neatly labeled).
They include a large number of cycads, weird Australian trees with twisting colossal trunks, and ancient palm-ferns that have been around since the time of the dinosaurs."
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"Plants including mosses, lichens and fungi from Portugal, the rest of Europe, other continents and islands of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific are the spoils of this museum, which historic collections dating back to the eighteenth century, collected on expeditions and trips in Africa, Brazil, Asia and East Timor.
The Botanical Garden has an area of 4 ha where are observed plant specimens from different parts of the world, including stand cycads, Gymnosperms, tropical palms and fig trees. Seeds of rare and endangered species are preserved in the seed bank.
The Botanical Garden is a heritage of undoubted interest from the standpoint of historical, cultural and scientific. It is their mission to contribute to scientific knowledge of plants and fungi, their biodiversity, conservation, proposing methods for managing the environment. The Botanical Garden has yet to allow the approach of society to plants and fungi - the basis for life on Earth - providing increased scientific literacy of the community, being a unique venue for the dissemination and scientific training."
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visit link)
Where: Rua da Escola Politécnica, 58, Principe Real
How: Metro - Rato Station
When: Every day 9AM-8PM (Summer), 9AM-6PM (Winter)