After having spent five days in Sintra, Jürgen and I had easily reached our palace quotient for the year... and it was still early January. But we couldn't possibly leave Lisbon without visiting the Palácio Nacional de Queluz, just fifteen kilometers outside the city.
"Another day, another palace." This was our creed during our week-long stay in Sintra. Today, we'd be visiting the Palace of Monserrate, an eccentric estate constructed by a pair of wealthy Englishmen in the 18th and 19th centuries.
More from Our Trip to Sintra Sintra | Palácio Nacional de Sintra | Palácio Nacional da Pena | Parque da Pena Castelo dos Mouros | Chalet de Condessa | Monserrate | Convento of the Capuchos Quinta da Regaleira | Cabo da Roca After having visited the Palácio de Pena, we turned our attention to the park which extends behind and above it. A vast network of paths snake through the forest, leading to special buildings, statues, gardens…
With its castles, hills, fog and forests, Sintra looks as though it was ripped straight from the pages of a fairy tale. For centuries, this was the preferred retreat of Portuguese kings, and its beauty has been celebrated by legions of poets, painters and authors. In order to properly soak up the atmosphere, and to visit everything it has to offer, we decided to spend a week there.
The Basilica da Estrela lies west of the Baixa, in the upscale neighborhood of Lapa. Built by the Queen of Portugal to fulfill a promise to God, the church sits atop a hill, with a giant dome that's visible throughout Lisbon. We visited both it, and the adjacent Jardim da Estrela on an overcast Sunday.