Restaurants, bars and museums in Porto · Page 137

Parque de São Roque

Bonfim · Parks & Gardens

Parque de São Roque is a public park in Porto's Bonfim neighbourhood, and one of its access points is at Travessa das Antas 355, 4350-307 Porto. One description places it between the Campanhã and Antas neighbourhoods. The grounds cover over 4 hectares. They are laid out as a terraced historical park that pairs multi-layered planting with romantic architecture, in contrast to the busier centre of the city. The Calém family sold the property to the City Council of Porto in 1979, and it opened to the public the same year. It was revived at the beginning of 1990. The council installed a set of sculptural pieces and rebuilt a chapel that had previously stood at Largo Actor Dias. It also reconstructed a labyrinth of Buxus sempervirens. The park keeps the character of a romantic garden. Since the 2002/2003 academic year, it has also housed the Centre for Environmental Education. On the grounds, the elements from the last century include minarets, hedgerows, waterspouts and bonfires. Shaded walking paths run through the park, and there are lookout points and a hedge maze. Visit Porto classes the park under gardens and parks, lists its themes as museums and heritage and as outdoors, and gives an average visit duration of 30 minutes. Casa de São Roque stands at the very top of the park. It was once the private summer manor of the Ramos Pinto family and has since become a cultural hub. Inside, the grand salons keep a domestic scale, with fireplaces, wooden window shutters and rooms that flow into one another. The house shows the Peter Meeker Collection. Trip.com lists the house as open from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Visitors arriving by Metro are advised to head for the Rua de S. Roque da Lameira entrance, which gives the most direct route to the front door of the manor. The Visit Porto page gives different hours: 9am to 6pm from 1 October to 30 March, and 9am to 7pm from 1 April to 30 September. Its live table, though, shows 08:00 to 19:00 on every day of the week. That page also gives a separate address, Rua de São Roque da Lameira 2040, 4300-306 Porto, with the telephone number +351 225320080 and the email dmevgi@cm-porto.pt. Because the sources disagree, check the hours before you go.

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