Full Day Tour Quinta da Regaleira, Ericeira & Mafra, from Lisbon

Quinta da Regaleira is one of the most amazing monuments of the Serra de Sintra. Situated at the end of the historic center of the village, it was built between 1904 and 1910, in the last period of the monarchy. The romantic domains that once belonged to the Viscountess of Regaleira were acquired and expanded by Dr. António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro (1848-1920) to found his place of choice. The architecture and art of the palace, chapel and other constructions were scenically conceived in the context of an Edenic garden, emphasizing the predominance of neo-Manueline and Renaissance styles. The garden, a representation of the microcosm, is revealed by the succession of places imbued with magic and mystery. Paradise is materialized in coexistence with an inferius - a Dantesque underground world - to which the neophyte would be led by Ariadne's thread of initiation. With these scenarios, the representation of an initiatory journey, as vera peregrinat mundi, is concretized, through a symbolic garden where we can feel the Harmony of the Spheres and peer into the alignment of an ascesis of consciousness that travels through the great epics. There are glimpses of mythology, Olympus, Virgil, Dante, Camoes, the Templar mission of the Order of Christ, great mystics and thaumaturgists, the enigmas of the Royal Art, the Great Alchemical Work. This stone symphony reveals the poetic and prophetic dimension of a Luso Philosopher's Mansion. Here Heaven and Earth merge into a sensible reality, the same one that presided over the theory of Beauty, Architecture and Music, which the acoustic shell of the Celestial Worlds Terrace allows to propagate to infinity.

Sintra's historic center is an open-air museum full of magnificent treasures. The village of Sintra, at the base of the Sintra Mountains, was for a long time a royal sanctuary. Amidst its vast vegetation are incredible castles, palaces, gardens and farms. Sintra, with its imposing hills dotted with palaces, churches and manor estates, extending in waves of green to the ocean and the fascination of Vila Velha's urban agglomerations is a privileged place of excellence, of undeniable beauty and cultural and natural interest. . In 1995 it was classified as a World Heritage Site in the Cultural Landscape category by UNESCO.

A traditional fishing village, Ericeira has developed enormously during the 20th century due to the growing interest in it as a summer resort. It has, however, maintained its original characteristics and its own individual atmosphere. Fifty kilometres from Lisbon, in an easily accessible area, its beaches are very crowded during the summer, and are considered among the best in Europe for surfing. Ribeira d`Ilhas Beach, where one of the World Surfing Championship contests is held every year, is worth a special mention. A visit to Ericeira is also an excellent opportunity to try the shellfish and fresh fish dishes, the speciality of the regional cuisine.

The National Palace of Mafra was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. The Royal Palace occupies the noble floor of the Mafra building and the 2 turrets. The north turret was occupied by the king and the south turret by the queen, and both turrets are linked by a 232-metre gallery – making it Europe’s largest palatial corridor. This building, of about 40,000 m2, housed a Franciscan convent (300 fryers) – and features Campo Santo, the Infirmary, the Elliptical Hall (capitular), the Literary Acts Hall, the Stairway and the Dining Hall. It boasts a large library thought to be one of the most beautiful in the world. The Royal Building has two carillons with 98 bells – the largest of its time. The Basilica’s 6 organs are pieces of unique heritage worldwide. The Royal Convent and Palace of Mafra is the most important baroque monument in Portugal. The building covers an area of almost four hectares (37.790 m2), including 1.200 rooms, more than 4.700 doors and windows, 156 stairways and 29 inner yards and courtyards. Such magnificence was only possible due to the Brazilian gold that poured into the country, allowing the King to carry out his patronage of the arts and the strengthening of royal authority.

José Franco Village Museum is also commonly called Saloia Village, Cork Oak Typical Village or even José Franco Typical Village. This village is one of the most recognized musealized villages in the country. To tell the story of this village we have to go back to 1920, the year of the birth of potter José Franco. The son of a shoemaker and a door-to-door cookware saleswoman (and at fairs when business was weak), José Franco lived with the potter's trade from an early age. The Cork Oak was, at the time, an important potter center, and it is customary for the people of the earth to learn to handle the clay and make a profession of it. Franco learned the trade from two local potter masters before starting at age 17 on his own. In the early 1960s, José Franco began to shape an old dream, to recreate a village of ethnographic character, where the way of life of local people was mirrored. It was a form of tribute to his land.