Lisbon Park of Nations how to get there. Parc des Nations, Lisbon – the most modern Portugal. Parque des Nations in Lisbon on Google Panorama
Welcome to Lisbon Modern!
The futuristic architecture of East Lisbon is the complete opposite of the city's older quarters. Most of them were built by innovative architects for Expo 98, the World Exhibition that took place in the Portuguese capital between May and September 1998. At the end of the exhibition the new area was named City Park of Nations, and is now one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in Europe.
This place attracts with its diversity - from architecture to cultural attractions. Of course, there is something to see here with children. Therefore, you can safely devote one of the days of your stay in Lisbon to a trip here.
The main highlight of the area is Oceanarium, recognized as the world's most impressive aquarium. This is a real ocean oasis where you can get acquainted with the life of the underwater world of our planet in a carefully recreated habitat of marine animals, fish and plants.
This is a place where little visitors can expand their knowledge and see the living inhabitants of the ocean depths.
Website http://www.oceanario.pt/
Open seven days a week
The next mandatory item in the local program is Museum of Knowledge, helping to “recharge the brains” of the younger generation.
Science interactive museums for children are usually found in all major European cities (for example in or Experimentarium in Amsterdam), and Lisbon is no exception. Touch with your hands, climb, check out scientific and fantasy exhibits in action - what could be more exciting for a young tourist!
Opening hours 10-18; Saturday, Sunday and holidays 11-19. Monday is a day off.
Undoubtedly, the child’s attention will also be attracted by the hanging cable car, allowing you to look at the architecture and the river from a bird's eye view. The trip lasts 8 minutes.
Boarding the cabin takes place just opposite the Oceanarium. Starts work at 11-00, ends at 20-00 (in winter at 18-00).
Other attractions include water gardens, an observation tower, a marina and a number of outdoor bars and restaurants overlooking one of the longest bridges in the world.
The two striking twin towers are designed to look like giant sailing ships and are named after two of Vasco da Gama's ships, San Gabriel and San Rafael.
For those interested in shopping, there is a large Vasco Da Gama shopping center(Centro Comercial Vasco da Gama), where the whole of Lisbon comes to shop.
However, the selection of stores is standard, mostly chain stores, although there are some interesting local brand names.
Nations Park in Lisbon - how to get there
— By metro (Oriente station)
— By train from Santa Apollonia station (Oriente station)
— From a (Commerciu Square) you can take bus number 728. Also (from different parts of the city) buses 705, 710, 719, 721, 7 50, 768, 781, 782, 785 go here
The exhibition lasted only 5 months, then all objects were repurposed, and the territory was turned into the Park of Nations, striking in its scale and open spaces. This is a modern residential and business area with an excellent waterfront, lots of art and chic restaurants.
The most interesting building in the park is, of course, the Vasco da Gama Tower. Just recently she looked like this. Unfortunately, the observation deck at the top has been closed to visitors for quite some time.
In 2012, the five-star hotel MYRIAD by SANA Hotels was added to it. This is the only hotel on the seafront and the best in Lisbon, so we spent a few nights here (booking.com).
The view from the hotel windows, the low tide is clearly visible. We filmed a time lapse of low tide, see this link.
Living here is very convenient, as Oriente station is a 15-minute walk from the hotel. And from it you can easily get to both the center and Sintra. In the mornings we went for a run on the embankment and watched the sunrise.
In the evening the embankment also looks fabulous
Near the bridge, in order to increase the area of the embankment, bridges were built directly over the water.
The embankment itself stretches for 5 kilometers, so it’s simply impossible to get around everything here in one day, but two days will be enough. If you have a bike, then you can do it in a day.
A cable car was built along the coast.
Country flags
Ukraine
Luxury housing
Artificial bay
Local residents of this bay
The largest indoor aquarium in Europe
Low tides give this place a special flavor
You can have lunch in the Vasco da Gama shopping center, near Oriente station. There's a huge food court there.
How to get there: by metro, train or train to Oriente station.
The story of how old Lisbon showed everyone that he keeps up with the times.
This happened in 1998, when on the site of the industrial zone, for the international exhibition Expo-98, a block of modern architecture with developed infrastructure grew up. The event was timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama.
The exhibition was a great success, but the most important thing is that after Expo 98 ended, the area did not wither away, as happens with such grandiose projects, but began to develop at an accelerated pace, for example, today about 25 thousand people live here.
The second name of the Expo 98 area is the Park of Nations, which stretches for more than 5 kilometers along the river, where, in addition to modern residential and office buildings, there is much more interesting.
People come here to stroll along the Tagus, go shopping in the Shopping Center, dine in good restaurants, go to a concert, look at the underwater world in the aquarium, try their luck at the casino, or just admire the sunset sky, where the 17-kilometer-long water surface cuts across the horizon bridge named after Vasco da Gama.
Now it seems impossible that on the site of the modern area there were oil refineries, landfills, abandoned warehouses, and even slaughterhouses.
The embankment area includes gardens, play areas, bike paths and cafes. We will tell you about the most interesting and significant buildings in the park, as well as some of the sculptures that are scattered throughout the Expo area.
Oriente train station
The station building was designed, dare I say it, by the brilliant architect Santiago Calatrave. The building made of gray concrete causes a mixed reaction among many. But if you see that around this structure there are mirrored and glossy facades of office buildings, then the gray structure of the station balances the composition. The station building resembles the skeleton of a huge whale or dinosaur.
This is one of Lisbon's major transport hubs: there is a metro station underground Oriente, above there is a bus station, from where intercity buses depart in almost all directions, and at the top there is a railway station.
Evening lighting gives the station design additional charm.
Opposite the station, like a spaceship with two towers, there is a shopping center Vasco da Gamma. Two towers are residential high-rises Sao Gabriel And Sao Rafael, named after the sailing ships on which the navigator discovered the sea route to India.
On the third floor of the shopping center there is an excellent food court with good restaurants, and on the open veranda you can eat with a view of the Tagus embankment and the Park of Nations.
In this part of the Expo 98 zone there is a park area with fountains, benches, exhibition pavilions and modern sculptures.
The first thing that will attract your attention will be a huge iron structure that resembles either a person or a giant insect.
Sculpture by Portuguese master Jorge Vieira. An anthropomorphic iron structure about 20 meters high, more like a huge alien creature. The sculpture is a symbiosis of abstraction and surrealism.
It starts right after it Rossio dos Olivais, a row of flagpoles and a water canal - this square is considered the center of the Park of Nations.
On the left side the space dish of the Atlantic Pavilion landed; today this structure is known as MEO arena where concerts take place. A North American architectural bureau collaborated on the project S.O.M. and the Portuguese Regina Cruz ( Regino Cruz).
On the right side is the Portugal pavilion, designed by Alvaro Siza Vieira ( Álvaro Siza Vieira). At first glance, it is a rather simple white structure, two building bodies that are connected by a slightly bent concrete sheet, like a thin sheet of paper.
This makes for some pretty nice photos. The building acts as a frame to the landscape that opens on the other side: a river, a bridge, a cable car, and people walking.
Near the Portugal pavilion there is another interesting art object.
Rhizoma Rhizoma
The design of nine male iron legs located at different angles is the brainchild of the Englishman Antony Gormley. The sculptor brings the human body to the fore in almost all of his works. From a distance this object looks like a tree.
Volcano fountains
In the middle of the shady alley of Alameda dos Osianos there are six cone fountains. These bright 4-meter “volcanoes” are not simple: in the summer, every 25 seconds, water bursts out of the crater in a powerful jet 3 meters high, like a volcanic eruption.
Many travelers who are unaware of this feature often fall into a water trap. Multi-colored fountains are connected by channels along which benches are located.
If you decide to walk along the alley, you will notice a black glass box - this is a building.
But let's return closer to the embankment, where we will notice another art object, around which people usually crowd and shout something. This is a sculpture - Horas de Chumbo.
Two iron conical pipes look like horns. This sculpture seems to breathe in the wind and creates an echo. You too can participate in this process: say something into the trumpet and listen to how your voice connects with the wind. The author is Portuguese Rui Chafes.
It will be interesting for people traveling with children Knowledge Pavilion: Living Science. Pavilhão do Conhecimento: Ciência Viva.
Within the walls of the building lies an educational children's center, where you can playfully learn the laws of physics, play the role of Sherlock Holmes or a crazy Chemist. Exhibits in the museum change periodically.
Also located in the Park of Nations. The American Peter Chermayeff, a well-known specialist in such structures, worked on the project. This is the largest aquarium in Europe. 7 thousand cubic meters of sea water, glass partitions, and you feel like you’re at the bottom of the sea - an incredible sight!
The idea belongs to the Portuguese artist and designer Fernanda Fragateiro. The benches in this garden are covered with small mosaics, and the art object is a curtain that separates the roadway from the quiet park of palm trees.
Hidden among the trees was a white giraffe, bowing in front of the mirror.
The bright blue building is the Camões Theater, with a glass façade facing the river. This is a ballet theater.
Opposite the theater building, curious art object hunters can find Reflexo do céu, or rather what’s left of it.
There were once three huge stainless steel blades that were driven by the wind. Today there are only two left. The six-meter art object belongs to the Japanese sculptor Susumu Shingu.
Cable car
Behind the aquarium building there is a cable car, the cabins of which offer panoramic views of the Parc des Nations.
A 145-meter tower in the shape of a sail - a tower named after who do you think? Of course, Vashko de Gama. During the exhibition, there was a restaurant on the upper round platform. Today, the five-star MYRIAD hotel with panoramic views has been added to the tower.
A green park, this part of the area is popular with runners and cyclists. This zone contains plants from different parts of the planet - Goa, China, Mozambique and Angola, Brazil, etc. mostly from those countries where Portuguese sailors managed to make their mark.
Hiding among this greenery.
Marble sculptures of Kustodiev women refer us to the mythical sirens. Carefree naked nymphs of the waters of the Tagus River seduce sailors who sail in a traditional boat. The author is Portuguese João Pires Cutileiro.
A bit of pop art in traditional Portuguese guise - azulejos
On the territory of the Expo-98 park there are two walls - panels with superheroes and cartoon characters at the metro station Oriente. By the famous Icelandic artist Erro (Gúdmundur Gudmundsson).
The second panel is already located on the territory of the park itself, decorating the façade of the hotel. It is also made in a comic book style. On them you will find the characters you or your children love, be it the nephews of Scrooge McDuck or Mike Wazowski and Boo from Monsters, Inc.
Today the park extends far beyond the famous Navigator Bridge, under which skaters, rollerbladers and other extreme sports fans like to gather.
The construction of the modern area has hardly affected the natural ecosystem, so if you see people with binoculars in the bushes, do not be alarmed - these are typical amateurs birdwatching.
After walking around the park to your heart's content, you can dine at one of the restaurants that offers a variety of cuisines, from local Portuguese to Italian, Chinese and just burgers.
◎ The Parque des Nations area in Lisbon is where tourists and locals usually come for the whole day. A huge architectural complex built for the international exhibition Expo’98, the main theme of which was “Oceans, the legacy of the future.” The idea of holding the exhibition was born in preparation for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the return of Vasco da Gama from the expedition to India (1498), therefore many buildings at the exhibition bear the name of this famous navigator.
◎ The Parc des Nations in Lisbon stretches for almost 5 km along the Tagus River and covers an area of about 50 hectares. After the exhibition closed, many pavilions were dismantled or converted into more functional buildings, a lot of land was sold, and residential buildings were erected. Currently, about 28 thousand people live on the territory of the Park of Nations.
◎ Between the key objects of the park there are many pedestrian areas with shady alleys, interesting fountains, children's playgrounds and, of course, a huge number of coffee shops and restaurants for every taste. Right in the center of the Park of Nations, on Alameda dos Oceanos street there is a cozy walking area with volcano fountains.
Below we provide a list of the most interesting buildings in the Park of Nations that are worth visiting or just looking at.
Parque des Nations in Lisbon - attractions
Oriente Station
This is the first place you will find yourself when you arrive in the Parc des Nations area. To be precise, if you take the metro to Oriente station, you will go out onto the street from the lower floor of the station and it will remain behind you. We recommend turning around, and maybe even walking around the station itself (although it looks better from the side). Oriente Station has already become one of the landmarks and symbol of the city. And was even named the most impressive in the world (Daily Mail).
Shopping center Vasco da Gama (Centro Comercial Vasco da Gama)
A large shopping center located directly opposite the Oriente train station. During Expo '98, this building served as the entrance to the exhibition. Already in 1999, the building was converted into a shopping center, which is still operating today. To the left and right of the shopping center are the twin towers of St. Gabriel and St. Raphael (Torres São Gabriel and Torres São Rafael), on the lower floors of which there are commercial and office premises, and on the upper floors there are apartments overlooking the Parc des Nations and the Tagus River.
When leaving the Vasco da Gama shopping center (on the opposite side of Oriente Station), it will be difficult not to notice the huge dome on the left, reminiscent of a flying saucer. This is the Altis Arena or the Atlantic Pavilion (Pavilhão Atlántico). During the exhibition, the pavilion was the main stage where concerts and shows took place. After the exhibition was closed, the pavilion did not lose its purpose and many sporting or musical events are held here to this day. Major international stars who come to Lisbon give their concerts here. Until 2017, Altis Arena was called MEO Arena.
Lisbon Oceanarium (Oceanário de Lisboa)
If you go to the right from the Altice Arena, you will see a fancy building erected in an artificial bay of the Tagus River. This is the Lisbon Aquarium and it is considered the best in the world. It includes two large buildings, one of which was built in 1998 and the second, connected by a passage, in 2011 as part of the Oceanarium expansion project.
Vasco da Gama Bridge
The Vasco da Gama Bridge is named after the Portuguese navigator and discoverer. The bridge was opened before the exhibition, in March 1998, and was intended to make it more convenient for residents from the southern regions to access the exhibition. Construction of the bridge cost more than $1 billion. It is the longest bridge in Europe with a length of 17.3 km.
Vasco da Gama Tower (Torre Vasco da Gama)
The tower, 145 m high, is one of the hallmarks of the Parc des Nations area in Lisbon. In 2012, a luxury hotel from the SANA Hotels chain was added to the tower.
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These tours are led by creative Lisbon locals who can show you around the city, tell you where to save money and where to best spend your time. Tours are conducted in Russian.The city is ancient. However, along with ancient monuments, you can also get acquainted with the achievements of modern architecture. Nations Park is one such example. This Lisbon quarter was built in 1998 on the occasion of the International Exhibition Expo 98 in Lisbon. That's why it is also called Expo.
This event coincided with a significant date for the Portuguese: 500 years ago, an expedition led by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama first traveled by sea to.
It is curious that the exhibition ended, but the block that grew up on the site of a former industrial zone was not abandoned and did not fall into disrepair. This often happens with such structures: a lot of effort and money were invested in them, but, having played their role, they later become useless to anyone. Thanks to a well-thought-out layout, the Park of Nations avoided this fate: after the exhibition, the quarter began to develop rapidly.
Firstly, this area is very picturesque, as it stretches for several kilometers along the Tagus River. Secondly, the buildings were originally planned to be suitable for habitation or to accommodate offices. Thirdly, the infrastructure of the Park of Nations is conducive to a comfortable life. There are more than 25 thousand residents in the quarter.
Residents of other areas of the capital and tourists flock to the Park of Nations in their free time. Here you can have a great rest: stroll along the embankment along the river, admire the 17-kilometer long Vasca da Gama Bridge. This bridge, connecting the capital's Parque des Nations neighborhood with the cities of Alcochete and Montijo, is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Europe.
The oceanarium in the Park of Nations is one of the largest in the world. The building, reminiscent of a ship, is built on water. You can get inside via a two-level ramp. Four halls of the oceanarium are dedicated to the biosphere of the North Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. The central aquarium, in the shape of a cube running across two floors, represents the inhabitants of the global ocean. In general, the aquarium contains about 7.5 million liters of water, of which 5 million is in the central one.
Entertainment is entertainment, but it’s worth imagining what titanic work the aquarium staff does, because they must “please” each of its inhabitants so that he feels comfortable in the natural environment artificially created for him.
It’s nice to stroll along the embankment at any time - here you can turn into a park, a play area, rent a bike or sit in a cafe.
One cannot ignore a very unusual structure, reminiscent of an outlandish sea monster - this is the Oriente train station. In the evening, the entire structure is illuminated, which makes the station building even more amazing.
Oriente Station is the largest transport artery of the capital: in addition to the railway station, there is a bus station from which intercity buses depart, and a metro station.
Opposite the station is a huge shopping center named after Vasco da Gama. On both sides of it are residential high-rise towers. Each tower has its own name: Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael. This was the name of the sailing ships on which the Portuguese navigator discovered the sea route to India.
In front of the shopping center is an amazing 20-meter surreal sculpture depicting an incomprehensible creature that looks more like an alien.
Narrow canals run through the Park of Nations, along which there are 6 cone-shaped fountains reminiscent of volcanoes. To make it more similar, every half minute powerful jets of water burst out of the fountains, like lava.
Almost in the center of the Park of Nations is the Atlantic pavilion in the shape of a flying saucer, which locals call MEO Arena - concerts are often held here.
The casino building, the Pavilion of Knowledge, the Ballet Theater, the Garden of Palms, Lake Sirens - the best architects and designers of the world put their minds and hands into the creation of these objects. It is impossible to get bored in the Park of Nations - here everyone will find something to their liking.
Tourists are most attracted here by the cable car, which starts from the aquarium building. Its length is 1.25 km. Travel time one way is approximately 10 minutes. The final stop is near the 145-meter tower, which also bears the name of Vasco da Gama. Nowadays the 5-star Myriad hotel in a futuristic style is attached to the tower with panoramic views of the Tagus River and the surrounding area.
Helpful information
How to get to the Park of Nations
From the Oriente metro (or Oriente train station) to the central part of the Parc des Nations - 10 minutes walk.
Opening hours of the Park of Nations
The Park of Nations is accessible 24 hours a day. The cable car operates from 10:30 to 20:00 in the summer months, and from 11:00 to 19:00 in the winter months. The aquarium is open in summer - from 10:00 to 20:00, in winter - from 10:00 to 19:00. Entry closes one hour before closing.
Entrance fee
The cost of a cable car ticket is 3.95 euros one way. Round trip - 5.90 euros. For children under 7 years old - admission is free. For children from 7 to 12 years old and pensioners - 2 euros one way, 3.35 - both ways. A ticket to the aquarium will cost 16 euros. For children under 3 years old admission is free. For children from 3 to 12 years old and pensioners - 11 euros.