Monsanto offers the inhabitants of Lisbon the beauty of a landscape that overlooks the whole city, as well as the chance to rediscover nature in the park’s intense plant and animal life. All this is available to them while they enjoy that break that they’ve been longing for and temporarily free themselves from the stress of living in a large city. The park also provides environmental education activities and makes a decisive contribution towards guaranteeing the city’s climatic balance and freeing it from pollution.

Created in 1934, the park is now totally planted with trees. There is a predominance of pine-trees, but there are also other plants that are representative of Portugal’s natural forest, the oak-tree, the cork-oak tree, the holm-oak tree and others, all of which accentuate the diversity of the landscape.

Birds are more easily observed: some of them are resident in the area, while others simply stop off in the course of their migratory flights across continents.

Their bright colours and the music of their singing will most certainly make your visit worthwhile.

Recently, squirrels were introduced into the park. These friendly and loveable animals, which previously had been extinct in Portugal for several centuries, are still adjusting to their new environment. However, the main aim of the Parque Florestal de Monsanto is to provide Lisbon with a large-scale leisure and sports area. In keeping with this aim, several urban parks have been created, along with building complexes offering restaurants, viewpoints, children’s playgrounds, swimming-pools, a horse-riding centre, keep-fit courses, footpaths, and so many other attractions that help to make Monsanto a real school of nature and a blessed escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life.