Portugal · Distrito de Lisboa · Lisbon
Santa Maria dos Olivais, Lisbon — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Santa Maria dos Olivais is a large civil parish in the eastern part of Lisbon, stretching from inland housing down to the Tagus River. Its name means "of the olive groves". Farmland and quinta estates once covered this side of the city. The parish draws most visitors to its Parque das Nações edge, where the Lisbon Oceanarium and the Vasco da Gama Tower stand by the water.
About Santa Maria dos Olivais
Where to stay in Santa Maria dos Olivais
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Most of Santa Maria dos Olivais is residential, so its hotel choice is thin next to central Lisbon. The exception runs along the Tagus by Parque das Nações, where newer hotels sit within walking distance of the Lisbon Oceanarium, the MEO Arena and the Vasco da Gama Tower. That strip suits event-goers and aquarium visitors.
Inland the parish stays quiet, and the metro reaches the city centre in minutes. For a wider choice of beds, base yourself in central Lisbon.
About Santa Maria dos Olivais
What are the main landmarks in Santa Maria dos Olivais?
The parish's headline sights cluster along the Tagus at Parque das Nações. There you find the Lisbon Oceanarium, the MEO Arena, the Vasco da Gama Tower and the Pavilhão do Conhecimento - Ciência Viva Science Centre, with the Centro Interpretativo do Parque das Nações explaining the old Expo site. Away from the water, the parish is dotted with parish churches, among them the Igreja de Cristo-Rei da Portela, the Church of São João de Brito and the Igreja de São Bartolomeu da Charneca.
Old farm houses survive too. The Casa da Quinta de São José and the Quinta da Fonte do Anjo recall the estates that gave Olivais its olive-grove name.
What is the history of Santa Maria dos Olivais?
The name Santa Maria dos Olivais points back to the olive groves that once spread across eastern Lisbon. For centuries this was farmland beyond the walled city, worked from quintas such as the Casa da Quinta de São José and the Casa da Quinta da Francelha de Cima. Then the city caught up with it.
Planned housing filled the fields, among it the Bairro da Encarnação with its own parish church. The riverfront changed most of all when the 1998 world exposition, Expo 98, replaced dockland with the grounds known as Parque das Nações.
Where is Santa Maria dos Olivais?
Santa Maria dos Olivais spreads across the eastern flank of Lisbon, with the Tagus River and its broad estuary forming the whole eastern edge. Its waterfront joins Parque das Nações, the reclaimed Expo grounds. Inland sit planned quarters such as the Bairro da Encarnação, while Moscavide meets the parish near the river.
Lisbon Airport hems in the western side.
Good for
More areas in Lisbon
Updated July 2026