Parque da Cidade, Porto

The striking fact is its scale: Parque da Cidade is Portugal’s largest urban park, covering 83 hectares and offering about ten kilometres of paths. Sidónio Pardal designed it as a carefully composed landscape, using lakes, stonework, trees, and a wide range of plant and animal life to make secluded-feeling spaces within a densely populated city. While you continue along the path, you can appreciate the change from open ground to more sheltered pockets without leaving the urban fabric.

The ambition behind this park reaches back to 1916–1918, when Ezequiel de Campos proposed buying land for a city park. Land was set aside in the 1960s urban plan, the first concept studies began in 1982, and sustained construction started in 1991. The park also absorbed the Water Pavilion after Expo 98 closed.

It has welcomed the public here since December 2002, and its design by Alexandre Burmester and José Carlos Gonçalves creates the impression of a building floating above the ground. In the warmer months, the park stays open until midnight; from October through March, it closes at 10 pm.