Gardens of Lisbon - Cerca da Graça

Next on my Gardens of Lisbon series, is a relatively small park, but with a view like no other. Atop of one of Lisbon’s many hills sits the Graça neighborhood, a gem of Portuguese living, with many historical landmarks and viewpoints. But right at its feet sits the diminutive, yet full of life, Garden of Cerca da Graça.

Graça is one of the most known sights in Lisbon, even with its *relative hard accessibility *(due to its high location combined with a lack of transportation), Graça still gathers many visitors all year long. Around it you can find big Churches and Cathedrals, the Pantheon, the Castle of São Jorge, and the famous Feira da Ladra is held near Graça too. But the Cerco da Graça is rarely talked about, I’m here to amend that.

Whenever I visit friends that live in Graça, I tend to go up the hill from** Martim Moniz. On the way I always pass by this wonderful park. Cerca da Graça is located right below two very famous viewpoints, the Miradouro da Graça (or Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner), next to the church, and the Miradouro de Nossa Senhora do Monte**, an almost panoramic view of the whole city of Lisbon. But don’t be fooled! The Garden below also has one of the greatest views in all of the capital. Sprawling from the houses below, to the 25 de Abril bridge and the** Cristo Rei** right in the horizon, as well as the church and the castle above. 

Like I’ve said before, the Cerca da Graça garden isn’t huge, but the amount of* life you can find there is outstanding!* It has a small café for drinks and snacks, a *children’s park *with a lot to entertain the younger attendants, and a large grass field, perfect for picnic and for walking dogs.

It is definitely a underlooked place in Lisbon, maybe due to it’s size, maybe due to the other interest points near it, but, for me at least, not much beats the afternoon sun shinning on the green grass, and seeing everybody mingling and playing, almost carefree.