Casa Tait, Porto

The remarkable survivor in this enclosed garden is a tulip tree that is more than 250 years old. It has held protected status as a tree of public interest since 1950, making it far older than the name most visitors associate with the estate. Casa Tait began as an eighteenth-century country residence, one of the leisure properties that merchants favoured around what was then Porto’s edge.

William Tait, a wealthy Port-wine merchant and committed naturalist, made this his home after buying the property in 1900. He introduced plant species to Portugal and also published studies of the country’s birds. That combination explains why the garden feels like more than decoration: it is part of a collector’s working world.

Among its plantings are roses, camellias, a large-flowered magnolia, and a younger protected tulip tree; the wooded grounds contain 60 camellia trees. Stand still for a moment and notice how thoroughly the walls separate this place from the street. The main house has no windows on its street side, but turns toward the garden and the Douro, where it commands broad river views.

After Muriel Tait died in 1978, the property passed to Porto City Council so it could become a public green space. Today Casa Tait houses Porto’s museum programming department.