Even on a tight schedule, Ajuda Botanical Garden & Palace earns the hours.
Allow 1.5–2.5 hrs.
A peaceful, under-visited pairing — Portugal's oldest botanical garden in geometric baroque terraces, next to a sumptuously furnished royal palace frozen in 19th-century splendour. The catch: it's up the hill behind Belém, the garden is modest in size, and it draws far fewer people precisely because it's off the main drag. Rewarding for those wanting calm and royal interiors.