São Martinho and Autumn Days Out near Lisbon, 7 of 8: Ajuda Botanical Garden



Portugal's first botanical garden, laid out in 1768 beside the Ajuda Palace to teach the royal princes. It sits on two levels. The lower terrace is a baroque parterre of box hedges around a large fountain carved with serpents and sea creatures, with herb beds and nurseries. The upper level has ponds and a tree garden of tropical plants. Peacocks roam the paths, and the terraces look out over the Tagus.