Route Royal Palaces 8 Hours

This neo-classical palace was built in the first half of the 19C and was chosen as the residence for the Portuguese royal family when D. Luís I (1838-1889) became king and married an Italian princess, D. Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911).

It is a typical example of a 19C royal residence and has an important collection of decorative art (gold and silver ware, paintings, sculpture, furniture, tapestries, glassware, porcelain, etc.).

Palacio Nacional de Queluz

Museums and Palaces

The Palace of Queluz and its gardens, represents one of the finest examples of late 18th-century Portuguese architecture.

Built at the orders of Pedro III, the husband of D. Maria I (1734-1816), and used as a royal residence, this palace is one of the finest examples of Portuguese architecture in the late 18C.

It has been further enriched by an important museum of decorative art, whose collections mostly belonged to the royal family and are exhibited in an appropriate setting. Many of the rooms are decorated in the rocaille style, such as the superb Throne Room, its walls lined with mirrors and magnificent carved gilded woodwork.

The surrounding gardens are embellished with fountains and ornamental ponds, where sparkling water spouts forth from mythological figures. Particularly impressive is the group of sculptures around the Neptune Basin.

Sintra National Palace
Museums and Palaces
The Sintra National Palace is unique among the royal medieval palaces in Portugal and the most distinguished building in the village of Sintra.
From the first dynasties of the country, Sintra was one of the favorite places of Portuguese kings and queens, although the palace we can see today was an initiative of Dom Joao I, who rebuilt it, and Dom Manuel I, which enriched the building's decorative character. and added a new wing.
Visit the interior of the palace, where you will surely discover a little more about the history of Portugal. The decoration is quite remarkable, being a combination of various artistic styles that depended on the respective tastes of the kings who lived here, and designed to give the various rooms different names. In particular, it draws visitors' attention to the Swan Room, the Armory Room, the Magpie or the Reading Room and the chapel.

Palacio Nacional e Convento de Mafra

Museums and Palaces

The sheer magnificence of the monumental architectural design of the palace, convent and basilica of Mafra bears witness to the opulence of the court of king Joao V (1707-1750). It was king João V who ordered the building of what proved to be the defining landmark of the Portuguese Baroque era. The design was by Frederico Ludovice who incorporated an architectural language and style Italian in inspiration.

The summer residence of the royal family, the Palace includes various collections featuring works by mainly Portuguese, Italian and French artists working to royal order including Baroque painting and sculpture, religious vestments and ornaments and mural paintings by leading Portuguese artists including Cirilo Volkmar Machado and Domingos Sequeira.

The Basilica houses a set of six organs, unique worldwide and they come in addition to two carillons totalling 114 bells - 57 in each tower.