Jardim Botânico António Borges — Attraction in Ponta Delgada

A MUST SEE site if you like plants & animals, and have time to meander the pathways, this garden is pleasing even during Winter!

Antonio Borges Botanical Garden (Part 1 of 2): Free Admission, delightful park with a heartwarming community feeling. From the 19th century, created by António Borges, an Azorean merchant and politician. Lava rock & basalt were used in the garden design to create fun grottoes, caves, bridges, interesting pathways, plenty of benches & growing environments. Today a surprise drama erupts.

Antonio Borges Botanical Garden (Part 2 of 2): Free Admission, delightful park with a heartwarming community feeling. Today the park is a municipal heritage and the green lung of the city center. It portrays the romantic and picturesque spirit of the 19th century and is used for diverse community activities and a surprise drama resolves as volunteer city residents care for the animals who live within this...

We enjoyed an hour long visit on our way to returning our rental car for our onward flight. Entry is free; parking nearby is hit if miss. There were multiple pathways at various levels around the garden, which offers wonderful shade, calming water features, and some simple stone grottoes. Some of the trees are spectacular and the different examples of blooming plants during late June was amazing. There were chickens and ducks, along with a couple of cats snoozing in shady corners of the park. As we didn’t have time enough to explore the entire garden, next time we’re on São Miguel, we’ll build a long visit into a broader visit of the northwestern part...

Stunning urban park and arboretum- the man made landscape might just leave you rubbing your eyes in disbelief-amazing what could be built from slabs of volcanic rock a hundred years ago! And the trees - such a collection! The Australian fig will blow your mind. The scale of it is madness. A great half hour stroll up and down - azaleas and agapanthus line the walks. Do beware that local teens from the high school nearby do seem to frequent the little grottoes and caves and engage in some flagrante delicto after classes here.... (yeah. We stumbled across 2 couples on BOTH times to the...