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There are gardens in Lisbon that you only discover by chance, and this one is tucked away behind the walls of a school. At Paço do Lumiar, Quinta dos Azulejos hides an 18th-century garden where azulejos cover practically everything, from the fountains to the benches and columns. Designated a Property of Public Interest since 1962 ( in the section featuring 18th-century ceramic tiles), the estate’s garden has been home to the Manuel Bernardes School since 1935.
A garden where (almost) everything is made of tiles
What you see inside
Anyone passing by the gate wouldn’t guess what’s on the other side. There are tiles on the backs of the benches, on the columns and their capitals, on the balustrades, on the galleries, and even on the pergola —the Portuguese Association of Historic Gardens (AJH) describes them as covering every element of the garden’s main level.
The panels feature a little bit of everything: hunting scenes, parties and courtship, religious episodes, and moments of everyday domestic life. On some benches, the central figures are inspired—according to the Cultural Heritage Department—by works of the French painter Watteau. The estate is also listed as Quinta dos Embrechados —the name of a decorative technique that covers surfaces with shells, stones, and ceramic fragments.
From a recreational estate to a school
The house is believed to have been built in the 17th century, and it was António Colaço Torres, a goldsmith to the Royal Household, who had it rebuilt in the following century. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, the property had several owners and alternated between periods of neglect and restoration, until, in 1935, Father Augusto Gomes Pinheiro established the Manuel Bernardes School there. According to the AJH, it was this new use that allowed the tiles to survive to the present day.
Is it possible to visit?
The garden belongs to a private school, which does not publish visiting hours or rules on its website. Over the years, the space has opened its doors to the public for one-off events, such as the “Jardins Abertos” in 2019. To visit outside of these times, it’s best to contact the school in advance —and not show up unannounced, since it is a functioning school.
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