S. Francisco Garden, Public garden in Sé, Macau, China

S. Francisco Garden is Macau's oldest garden, laid out in the 1860s on 6,100 square metres beside the former S. Francisco barracks. It rises in three terraces from Avenida da Praia Grande to Rua de D. João Paulino, joined by staircases with stone balustrades. On the lowest level stands an octagonal Chinese pavilion that now houses a public library.

The garden's site originated in 1580 when Castilian Franciscan friars established a convent, which Portuguese friars took over in 1585. This transition marked a key moment in the region's religious history and shaped how the site developed thereafter.

The Cantonese name Ka-Si-Lán-Fa-Yun, meaning 'Garden of the Castilians', recalls the Castilian Franciscan friars who built the convent here in 1580. A Chinese official once heard a Portuguese priest pronounce 'S. Francisco' as 'Fa-Lán-Sí-Ka'; written right to left, it was misread as 'Ka-Si-Lán'. The garden was long a gathering place for Macau's upper class, who strolled, chatted and listened to band music at the bandstand until 1940.

The garden rises in three tiers from Avenida da Praia Grande up to Rua de Santa Clara, with stairs and balustrades linking the levels; the octagonal library sits at the lower end. Bus stops M165 S. Francisco / Edf. Especialidade Saúde Pública (6A, 6B, 17, 28C, H1) and M168 Praia Grande / Jardim S. Francisco (2A, 6A, 8, 8A, 9, 9A, 12, 28B, H1, H2) serve the garden.

The pale pink two-storey tower at the garden's highest point was built as a World War I memorial, with arched windows, patterned walls and a crown-shaped ornament on top. It now houses the Macau Association for the Handicapped. The garden's old arches survive near the Quartel de S. Francisco wall.