IT BECAME A FAMILY AFFAIR. WHEN YOU WALK DOWN THE BARS AND RESTAURANTS REALIZING ON THE WAY THAT ONE THIRD OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS GREEN, A MIX OF GARDENS AND URBAN ART (GRAFFITI, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, TILE WORK), YOU CAN ONLY SURRENDER TO THE MAIN PURPOSE OF PARQUE DAS NAÇÕES: TO CONVINCE LISBONERS AND TOURISTS ALIKE THAT YOU CAN CREATE A SPACE OUT OF A DEACTIVATED OIL INDUSTRY FACILITY AND TURNED THAT INTO AN EVER-LASTING SUNDAY.
It’s a great place to live, if you can afford it, but it was designed first and foremost as a pleasure dome for the families, with a handful of attractions and main events. From the Oceanário (Aquarium), the best Europe came up with, to the Pavilhão do Conhecimento (Pavilion of Knowledge), the fun of Casino Lisboa, the major entertainment events at Altice Arena, classic and contemporary dance at Teatro Camões, the daring ceiling of the Pavilhão de Portugal, all the wonders of the place witnessed by a longitudinal cable car. Even the simple gesture of arriving is a sort of adventure, from the beautiful Marina to the stunning railway station Gare do Oriente, designed by Santiago Calatrava. For some, that is the sign of the biggest and more shinning pearl: the show-off of contemporary architecture that this new side of Lisbon insists on giving away to the pleasure of our senses.
To a foreigner, Parque das Nações may just be the best place to feel what is like to be a Portuguese on the loose. Tempered by the river Tagus, the Vasco the Gama bridge and the shopping mall honoring the same navigator (not forgetting the parallel streets packed with creative stores and varied gastronomy), a day at Parque das Nações may turned out to become all that the place was planned to be: the best Sunday you ever had, any day of the week.
