Jardins Abertos around Lisbon

What happens when you bring together professionals working in gardening, landscaping, culture, and sustainability? The answer: a festival in which Lisbon’s most enthralling gardens open their gates to the public, all for free.

The very first edition, which took place in May 2017, consisted of a guided tour organized by a small but very passionate team. With only 80 places available, over 3,000 people had applied within the first 48 hours after launch. Ten gardens took part in the program, with eight volunteer guides leading groups on foot on a route between Graça and Príncipe Real.

In 2018, a partnership with the Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (Lisbon City Council) allowed the project to expand. The number of gardens taking part grew to 23 and activities both educational and cultural were organized to suit all generations. More than 8,000 members of the public were welcomed by a team of 30 volunteers.

In 2019, the project received the Alto Patrocínio do Presidente da República (Grand Patronage of the President of the Republic) and, with the support of the City Council, for the first time, the festival had two editions: one in Spring and one in Autumn. Growing naturally like a forest, the festival had over 25,000 participants in both seasons.

In 2020, everything changed, but that didn’t mean Spring was canceled. Forming part of the program for Lisbon’s year as European Green Capital, both editions of Jardins Abertos [Open Gardens] took place across two consecutive weekends. The in-person program across the two editions was attended by more than 19,000 participants, while the virtual program drew an audience of over 200,000.