Jardim Das Portas Do Sol

Santarém sits on a bluff above the Tagus, and the Jardim das Portas do Sol is the place in town where that position pays off. The garden is laid out along the old defensive wall at the edge of the plateau, and from its terraces you look down over the river and the broad floodplain known as the lezíria, where fields and cattle stretch away toward the horizon. In the evening the light turns the water and the plain gold, and this is when the garden is at its best.

The name, the Gates of the Sun, refers to one of the old entrances to the medieval town. The hill was fortified for centuries, first by the Romans and then by the Moors, who built an alcáçova, or citadel, on the heights. King Afonso Henriques took the town from the Moors in 1147 by a surprise night attack, a story still told with some pride in Santarém. The garden sits on the site of the old fortification, and parts of the wall and the remains of the Moorish stronghold are still visible, so the layout is as much a walk through history as a park.

The planting is simple: trees providing shade, flower beds, gravel paths and benches facing the view. There is a bar and restaurant where you can have a coffee or a meal on the terrace, which makes a convenient place to stop. The park is open daily, with longer hours in the warmer half of the year, and entry is free. An adapted toilet is available for people with reduced mobility, and the main paths are relatively flat, though getting up to the old town from the lower streets involves a climb.

Santarém is often called the capital of Gothic art in Portugal, and the garden is a good starting point for a walk to its churches. The Igreja da Graça, a Gothic church with a large rose window, holds the tomb of Pedro Álvares Cabral, the navigator who reached Brazil. The Igreja de Santa Maria de Marvila has a Manueline portal and a rich interior of azulejos, while the Church of the Holy Miracle recalls a famous medieval legend about a bleeding host. The Museu Diocesano, the Misericórdia church and the Praça Sá da Bandeira are all close by, as is the convent of São Francisco.

Plan your visit for the late afternoon so that you can enjoy the view as the day cools. It is an easy stop for travellers on the way between Lisbon and the north, and a fine spot for photographs. The garden is also a good place to sit down with a map and decide which of the town's many churches to see next, without needing to go far.