Getting out to enjoy some green space does wonders for our physical and mental health, but not all green spaces are created equal. We’re by no means trying to bash your local park, but sometimes you want a bit more drama from your vitamin D hit – sometimes, you need a garden.
We’ve got some exciting news for garden lovers headed to Lisbon this spring. Alongside all the glorious jacaranda trees that will be in bloom, for the first four weekends in May – that’s from May 3 to 25 – several of the city’s loveliest gardens will be open for the public to enjoy, free of charge.
These include the gardens at the Monteiro-Mor Botanical Park, the Italian Embassy Gardens and the Penha Snail Garden – you can have a look at the full list of gardens open to the public here.
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Why? Well, it’s all part of the Jardin Abertos festival, which has been running annually since 2017, and is now back for its fourteenth edition. The event is co-organised by Lisbon city council, and last year 28,000 people got involved.
The aim is to ‘promote a strong and positive connection with nature, combining sustainability with the urban context’, but it’s not just frolicking among the flower beds that’s on the itinerary – although, we’re sure there’ll be plenty of time for that.
The Portugal News says there’ll be a programme of collective gardening activities and workshops, which kicks off with visitors getting involved in identifying plant and insect species at the start of the festival.
Sounds sweet, right? You can read more on the website here, and check out Time Out Lisbon’s roundup of the best parks and gardens in the city.
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