Parque das Nações

Eastern Lisbon meets the Tagus differently at Parque das Nações: gardens, flat waterfront promenades and modern buildings where other quarters have winding lanes. The neighbourhood was built for Expo ’98, the world exhibition held on a former industrial stretch of shore, and when the fair ended the grounds became a district that kept the fair’s theme — the oceans — in its name and its life.

A fair that became a neighbourhood

Expo ’98 opened in May 1998 and ran until the end of September under the theme ‘The Oceans, a Heritage for the Future’. It was planned from the start with an urban legacy in mind: the public company Parque Expo regenerated a derelict riverside into a new quarter, renamed after the fair as the Park of Nations. The Oceanário de Lisboa, the aquarium built for the event and opened in 1998, remains at its heart and is one of the largest indoor aquariums in Europe. Everything here is modern, which makes the district a deliberate counterpoint to the older Lisbon gathered at the Museu de Lisboa.

What to see

• The Oceanário de Lisboa and its great central tank
• The waterfront promenade running along the Tagus
• The marina and its boats on the river
• The Vasco da Gama Tower at the northern end
• The gardens and public squares running the length of the district
• Gare do Oriente, one of the city’s main transport hubs

Practical information

Parque das Nações occupies the northeastern bank of the Tagus and is served by the Gare do Oriente transport hub. The ground is flat and the promenade is long, so bring comfortable shoes, and a light layer for the breeze off the river.

Image credit: Parque das Nações Marina, Lisbon, Portugal by Jules Verne Times Two — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.