We recently spent 5 fabulous days, on an Easter break, in the Portuguese city of Porto. Just a 2 hour flight from the UK, Porto has history, culture, museums, architecture, gourmet food and of course port. It’s a great place to take children and one of the things we enjoyed was the Jardins do Palacio de Cristal AKA Crystal Palace!
The gardens are in the heart of the cityand were built in 1865 for the International Show. The original building was destroyed in the 1950s and replaced by the current dome shaped building, which is a sports venue. This was closed on our visit but we went there to enjoy the gardens and the view of the city. Described by Lonely Planet as one of the city’s best escapes, the gardens were the perfect place to admire fantastic views of the city .
As you enter the gardens you hear the distinctive call of peacocks and following their cries takes you to their hang out next to a library in the park.
A large pond complete with ducks, bridges, weeping willows.
You can see all the way out to the lighthouse at Foz from the gardens.
The same view in tile form. Porto is a city where many buildings are covered in mosaic tiles.
The view in the other direction, looking up the Douro to the port houses of Porto
For views of the city, peacocks, shady gardens and sun dappled terraces, the Gardens are a lovely place to stop awhile in the city of Porto.
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WHERE JO GOES -CITY BREAKS WITH KIDS
New York/Oxford UK/London – Greenwich/HMS Belfast/British Library/ Royal Albert Hall/World’s Biggest Lego Store/Ham House (National Trust)/Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
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Porto and Jardins Do Palacio De Cristal look beautiful. I think I’d have to stop by the gardens if I ever found myself in Porto, and I hope someday that I will find myself there. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures and giving a sense of what it is like there. 🙂
With Love,
Mandy
We drove straight through Porto as we had a booking in Vigo Spain with a rigid “be there by” time and we had forgotten about the time change when we left Portugal and lost an hour. We did see the dome (or a dome) from the motorway. Maybe next time.
Who would have thought somewhere like this existed on the edge of a city! It looks so beautiful and those views are incredible. A perfect retreat to admire the city from a distance and somewhere to let kids be a little more free to run for a while too. A winner all round.
Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
That looks so pretty, and very peaceful. How lovely you can get up close to the peacocks!
wow at the views, and I love the tile replications.
Love a good peacock with its tail up.
Glad you had a good holiday. #countrykids
Those gardens look beautiful and the views from them are stunning. Love the peacocks too 🙂 #countrykids
I have been to Portugal twice, but never to Porto. Based on your lovely review and reading other blogs about it, i will definitely need to add our families travel wishlist #citytripping
I didn’t know about this place in Porto! The views are great. When I travel, I like to visit some places to relax and recharge my batteries.
I’d love to go to Porto, and these gardens will definitely be on my list! #citytripping
We loved Porto, it’s a great city, but did not go here! How beautiful and I love the history behind the gardens. Thanks for linking #citytripping
Jo, the gardens look lovely. I have been to Porto before but my husband and I didn’t go to the gardens. Maybe one day we will return.