Garcia de Orta Garden

Interesting facts

1. 1

   The garden is named after Garcia de Orta, a 16th-century physician and naturalist who published the first treatise on the medicinal plants of India.

2. 2

   The plant selection is geographically categorized to represent four distinct regions: Madeira and the Azores, Africa, India and the Far East, and Brazil.

3. 3

   The design intentionally simulates the botanical findings encountered by Portuguese navigators during the 15th and 16th centuries.

4. 4

   It is located within the northern area of the Parque das Nações, a district reclaimed from former industrial wharves.

5. 5

   The garden's architecture utilizes a series of descending terraces that bridge the height difference between the promenade and the river's edge.

Overview

Garcia de Orta Garden is a thematic botanical space in the Parque das Nações district, inspired by the historical Portuguese maritime discoveries. The garden features exotic plants originally imported from former Portuguese colonies in Africa, Asia, and Brazil. It is laid out to reflect the botanical legacy of the 16th-century naturalist Garcia de Orta. The park spans several thousand square meters along the Tagus riverfront. It incorporates themed areas representing different climates and geographical regions of the historic empire. The garden serves as an educational space documenting the global distribution of flora during the Age of Discovery. It provides extensive paved walking paths and tiered wooden seating areas facing the water. The landscape design integrates modern urban planning with historical botanical narratives. The garden is maintained as part of the wider redevelopment of the 1998 World Expo site.

Insider tips

• Bring sun protection, as the riverfront location provides limited natural shade in the central walking zones.

• Visit during low tide to see the mudflats and observe local bird species, such as egrets, feeding in the river.

• Combine your visit with the nearby riverfront boardwalk that connects the garden to the Lisbon Oceanarium area.