The tree and the cafés
The natural canopy is the district's place to sit, used by residents more than tourists.
Nicola — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Donald Judge from England — CC BY 2.0 · Donald Judge from England — CC BY 2.0 · Donald Judge from England — CC BY 2.0
A square and garden in Príncipe Real, among the quietest and smartest of Lisbon's central districts, directly north of Bairro Alto. The centre of the garden is an enormous Lebanese cedar whose branches have grown horizontally into a wide canopy held up by metal supports, with cafés and tables beneath it. That tree is the garden's known image and the natural place to sit in the district. Beneath the garden lies a nineteenth-century water reservoir, the Patriarcal, part of the Water Museum and visitable at set times through an entrance in the square itself. Many of the people sitting above it do not know it is there. The neighbourhood around the garden is worth walking: nineteenth-century houses, design shops and restaurants, with a small market on certain days. The garden is free and open, a comfortable stop between Bairro Alto and the botanical garden, and a spot where residents of Lisbon sit more than tourists do.
The natural canopy is the district's place to sit, used by residents more than tourists.
The nineteenth-century Patriarcal reservoir lies under the square and opens at set times.
Nineteenth-century houses, design shops and restaurants around the square.
Praça do Príncipe Real, Príncipe Real district, Lisbon
Bairro Alto & ChiadoThe twins Bairro Alto and Chiado are western Lisbon's two faces: Chiado the eleg5 minutes walk4.5
National Society of Fine ArtsAn arts institution founded in the nineteenth century and still operating, in a 7 minutes walk4.5
The Carmo Convent, Open to the SkyCarmo is 1755's deliberately kept wound: Lisbon's greatest Gothic church (1389) 11 minutes walk4.6
Communications MuseumA museum about the history of post and telecommunications in Portugal, in a buil12 minutes walk4.6
Estrela BasilicaA late eighteenth-century church with a prominent white dome west of central Lis13 minutes walk4.7Yes, but at set times only and by ticket, since it belongs to the Water Museum rather than the garden. The entrance is in the square itself. Check the Water Museum's hours before going, as the reservoir does not open daily.
Lisbon's botanical garden is a short walk away, and Bairro Alto and Chiado lie directly south. Make it a mid-walk break in a day through those districts rather than a destination in itself.