The Shore and Gardens

The city’s main beauty spot, these 7km of spotless beaches are fringed by the largest beachfront garden in the world (According to the Guinness Book of Records, 2000), and approximately 7.9 kilometers of cycle lanes. 5.335 meters long and 45 to 50 meters wide, the gardens boast 815 flower beds, housing several perennial species, predominantly yellow (Hemerocalis flava) and white (Spathiphiphyllum sp) lilies; red canna lilies (Canna indica), and white, yellow and multi-colored chrysanthemums (Crysanthemum sp). Engineer Saturnino de Brito first had the idea to build the gardens in 1914. In the following decade, gardens began to appear in front of the hotels, and in the 1930s the first stretch of beachfront gardens was built. The present curved design dates from 1960.