One of the perks of staying in Porto for a month is discovering places that you won’t mind coming back to repeatedly. Just a few blocks from our apartment is the prettiest park you can imagine, Crystal Palace Gardens, and this morning we wandered over to explore it with no particular agenda beyond enjoying the fresh air and getting some steps in.
This is the charming street/hill we walk up on the way to the gardens:
The gardens have been here since the 1860s, originally created around Porto's grand Crystal Palace for an international exhibition. The palace itself is long gone, but the gardens remain, with a peaceful maze of winding paths, towering trees, colorful flower beds, and some of the best views in the city.
The second best thing about the park besides the views, (we’ll get to those in a minute), was the peacocks. Not in a fenced enclosure or strutting around for tourists, but casually roaming wherever they please as if they own the place. Which, after spending a few minutes watching them, they clearly do. Even better, there were several fluffy baby peacocks following their mothers through the gardens, making an already fantastic morning even more adorable.
Around every corner was another beautiful sight.
And then, we got to the best part. From the hilltops, the views stretch across the river and the rooftops of Porto, and are simply breathtaking.
Sometimes the best travel moments aren't the famous attractions at all. They're just a quiet morning walk in the park before breakfast.
Looks so beautiful!
beautiful!