May 17, 20203 min read

The Abandoned Panoramico De Monsanto - Portugal

I travelled to Portugal with my father for a week and one afternoon I asked our tour guide, Diogo, if he'd take me to an abandoned restaurant for lunch, and he was more than happy to. This is the abandoned Panoramico De Monsanto. It's in the middle of a national park on the outskirts of Lisbon.

The Video

The Property

Built in the late 1960s by Chavez Costa, this restaurant, originally intended for high-society folk, features 270-degree, panoramic views of all of Lisbon and the surrounding areas. It was abandoned in 2001 and has since been explored by those who you may not consider "high-society" folks. It now rests, slowly being taken back by nature and has been redecorated with the interior design that only graffiti artists could provide!

I wonder what Chaves Costa thinks of what these aretists have done to bring some color back to his decaying design. I wonder if he's been back. I would love to visit this place with Chavez one day.

If anyone knows Chaves, please tell him to reach out to me!

Getting In

As we rounded a bend we came across the the restaurant and my tour guide, Diogo, stepped out of his car and approached a security guard who was sitting in a shack. About thirty seconds later he returned and told me that we had clearance to go in the old parking lot. I love explorations that start out with permission. It's a rare thing, but when it happens I get super jazzed.

This was my first international exploration and I am more than certain that there is nothing like this in America. This place is so unique and in such a beautiful, secretive location that I don't think anything in the US can compete.

The Spoils

The first stop we made was to this side entrance where there was a beautiful green staircase with a bird cage like enclosure. Here's the view from the bottom.

If you'd like a print of any of these photos you can pick one up in my PRINT SHOP.

I had to climb it and take some shots from above! Here's the view from the top!

The above photo shows one of the levels of the building. The graffiti in this place truly adds to its character. If you'd like to read some amazing urban exploration stories and own some of my photography, pick up a copy of my first photography book here.

This used to be the parking lot..

This image below should be printed out and hung in buildings around Lisbon. I love this shot so much! I What a beautiful spiral staircase. It's a shame that more people won't get to see this. I'm sure they'll tear this building down one day.

I'm so grateful for urban exploring, as it has brought me to some of the coolest people in the world. I now have friends across the globe that explore, that, at any time, I can message on any app, or send them a carrier pigeon, and they'll drop everything to go explore with me and show me the best places in their town to photograph and investigate.

I have to give a huge thank you to Diogo, AKA @DAZTRIP for being such a rad tour guide. We have kept in touch over the past few years and I hope to explore Europe with him some day.

THE ESCAPE!

After we finished checking out this place and I crashed and ruined my drone we said our goodbyes to the Panoramico De Monsanto. I'm so glad I got to snap a few shots before crashing my drone. I was able to replace it quickly and I'm happy to say that I'm now a certified drone pilot!