Parque de São Roque

The Parque de São Roque is a council garden in Campanhã, the eastern part of Porto near the Estádio do Dragão. It began as the Quinta da Lameira, a country estate split off from a bigger one called the Quinta da Bela-Vista. Porto city council bought it from the Calém family in 1979 and opened it to the public the same year, then restored it in the early 1990s.

It’s laid out as a romantic garden on terraces, with the features that were fashionable a century ago: little minarets, clipped hedges, fountains and stone braziers. When the council restored it, it added sculptures, rebuilt a chapel that had stood in the Largo Actor Dias in the city, and created the maze that children come for.

Recent works added 1.2 hectares, bringing the park to 5.2 hectares. The council repaired the paths and seating areas, restored the viewpoints and kept the maze as it was.

The maze (labirinto) is made of box (Buxus sempervirens), the small-leaved evergreen used for garden hedges. It’s the park’s best-known feature, and the council calls it iconic. Children can run the paths and try to find the way through, while you watch from outside. If you have more than one child running it, agree a meeting point at the exit before they set off.

From the park’s higher terraces and viewpoints you can look down on the maze and out over the city, so it’s worth climbing up after a run through the maze to look back down on it.

The council lists a Parque Infantil e Desportivo de São Roque, a playground and sports area on the Travessa das Antas side of the park, with the same opening hours as the gardens. Portugal With Kids describes it as right by the entrance, with a wooden play circuit, swings and slides, a picnic area and outdoor exercise equipment. It’s a traditional neighbourhood playground rather than an adventure one, and it’s a good reward after the maze.

The garden has a lake and fountains, a grotto, a pergola and a viewpoint over Porto, according to Portugal With Kids, and the same directory mentions a small tea house with a terrace, a big collection of camellias and the cats that live in the park. The council’s list of trees includes eucalyptus, jacaranda, camphor trees and camellias, the flower Porto likes to call its own.

Since the 2002/2003 school year, the park has housed one of the council’s Centros de Educação Ambiental (environmental education centres), which run activities for schools. There are public toilets in the park.

Toddlers get the swings, slides and paths to toddle along. Children of 4 to 7 get the most from the maze, the playground and hunting for fountains and statues. Children of 8 to 12 will enjoy racing each other through the maze and climbing to the viewpoints. Teenagers may find it too gentle unless they’re drawing or photographing it.

The park is free and open every day from 08:00, closing at 20:00 from April to September and at 19:00 from October to March. The main address is Rua de São Roque da Lameira 2040, with another entrance on the Travessa das Antas by the playground. The garden is on terraces, so there are slopes and some steps between levels. The tree cover gives shade on hot days. Bring a picnic: there’s a picnic area near the playground.

Also in eastern Porto, the Parque das Águas is an open-air museum of old fountains and water tanks in Nova Sintra. For a much bigger park with lakes and space to cycle, go west to the Parque da Cidade, and for peacocks and a playground above the Douro, try the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal.

Is the Parque de São Roque maze free?

Yes. The whole park, maze included, is free.

What are the opening hours of Parque de São Roque?

08:00 to 20:00 from April to September and 08:00 to 19:00 from October to March.

Is there a playground at Parque de São Roque?

Yes, the Parque Infantil e Desportivo de São Roque, on the Travessa das Antas side, with swings and slides.

Are there toilets?

Yes, the council lists public toilets in the park.