HISTORIC PALACES AROUND LISBON

Royal Palace of Queluz

In some details Queluz wanted to rival the Versailles in Paris

The palace of Queluz is located just a few kilometers from Lisbon on the road to Sintra. It was built in the 18th century by Pedro, brother of King José I, both sons of King João V. Initially intended as a summer residence, it evolved into a royal residence when it was decided that Pedro would marry his niece ...and heir to the throne, Maria Francisca.

Together with its magnificent topiary gardens, it is one of the most beautiful palaces in Portugal. Known for having aspired to bear some resemblance to the famous Palace of Versailles in Paris. The Palace of Queluz was home to three generations of the Portuguese royal family and their court and witnessed times of lavish celebrations, but also times of premature deaths, madness and great distress. It was from Queluz that the royal family fled to Brazil in 1807 when Napoleon's first army invaded Portugal and took Lisbon.

It was in the Queluz Palace that Pedro, the first Emperor of Brazil, was born and it would be in the same room that he died 35 years later at the culmination of a bloody and fratricidal civil war. For visitors wandering around modern-day Lisbon and wanting to learn more about the history of Lisbon and Portugal, there is a first step: take guided tours of these magnificent historic palaces that surround Lisbon

Royal Palace, Convent and Basilic of Mafra

One of the largest palace complexes in the world

The Royal Building of Mafra, commonly known as the Palace or Convent of Mafra, was built in 1717 by King João V and is considered one of the largest palace complexes in the world. It has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019 The extraordinary size of the building, which encompasses a palace, a convent, a basilica, a garden and a hunting reserve, ... can be better understood by those who don't already know it by looking at some of the figures that characterize it: it covers an area of 38,000 m, has 1,200 rooms, 4,700 doors and windows and 156 staircases, two carillons with 92 bells - the largest of their time and a set of 6 historic organs in the Basilica.

On the huge construction site, 52,000 workers, 7,000 soldiers and many artists, painters and sculptors from Italy and France worked. The building was constructed in record time - 17 years.

The city of Lisbon saw similarly opulent but smaller buildings built by the absolutist King João V, but they were all destroyed by the 1755 earthquake.

Pena Palace

A palace made of dreams where many nightmares have been lived

This wonderful building and its gardens were born out of the dream of a young 22-year-old German prince, Ferdinand, that came to Portugal in 1836 at the age of 19 to marry the even younger queen, Maria II, aged 17. Ferdinand II was an elegant, convivial, cultured young man, a lover of the arts, a enthusiastic supporter of Romanticism. Although he admired and loved his wife, ... he soon became disinterested turbulent Portuguese politics and saw the birth of a new passion, Sintra! When he was presented with the green hills of Sintra, the woods, the cool, misty climate, the ruins of the Moorish Castle and also of an old convent situated on an even higher peak, he decided to buy those places out of his own pocket and build a palace on that pinnacle, in the style of the extravagant and colorful palaces of central Europe. It would be aimed to royal family's leisure, rest and intimate interaction with nature.

A wonderful place of rest, delight and leisure for several generations of the Royal Family, the Palace of Pena was also witness to tragic and painful times, successive deaths and bereavements that culminated in the end of the monarchy in Portugal.

To better appreciate the Palace of Pena, you need to know the unique personality and deeply symbolic thinking of its creator, King Ferdinand II of Portugal.

Ajuda Palace

Before it was built, a luxurious wooden palace stood on the same site. King Joseph I was afraid of another earthquake.

Situated in Lisbon in a location that goes unnoticed by visitors to the city, but very close to the highly touristic monuments of Belém, the Ajuda Palace was built following the destruction of the large and wealthy Ribeira Palace in the 1755 earthquake.... the palace was renovated and became the permanent residence of the royal family in 1862, when the 23-year-old Portuguese king Luis I married the 15-year-old Italian princess Maria Pia.

The couple had two children and the eldest, Carlos, became King of Portugal but was assassinated in 1908 in dramatic circumstances that also led to the death of his first-born son and heir. For the real inhabitants of the Ajuda Palace, rest and leisure time were spent in Cascais and Sintra until the republican revolution of 1910 forced them to suddenly flee and go into exile.

Fronteira Palace

The art of telling history through illustrated tiles

Portugal was ruled for 60 years by the kings of Spain and, in 1640, a group of Portuguese nobles staged a coup d'état to put a Portuguese king, João IV, on the throne, paving the way for the last dynasty, the Bragança. This triggered a 28-year war between Spain and Portugal, known as the Restoration War.... During this war, the Portuguese nobility was divided between the supporters of the King of Spain and the new King of Portugal. After several victorious battles on the Portuguese side, peace was achieved by the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668.

The Palace of the Marquis of Fronteira was built by a Portuguese nobleman who supported the king and distinguished himself for his military achievements in defending the border, hence the title he was given.

The Palace of Fronteira is a unique work in Portugal about this historical period, celebrating the Restoration of Portugal's Independence in the architecture and beauty of its gardens and the decoration of its rooms.

Bacalhoa Palace and Estate

History, art, beautiful vineyards and wine

The Bacalhoa Palace and Estate is located a few kilometers south of Lisbon and is a privileged place where history, art and the beautiful green vineyards of the Arrábida Natural Park come together....

Built in the early 16th century as a country house and hunting retreat for the royal family, the palace and estate were later owned by a wealthy, cultured and travel-loving man, Brás de Albuquerque, who renovated the 16th century architecture with Renaissance additions, tile panels, busts and other faience objects.

Come with us and visit the Palace, the Art Collection and the winery at Quinta da Bacalhoa and enjoy a relaxed wine tasting in the gardens, accompanied by the magnificent millenary olive trees. Yes, some of these olive trees are over 2000 years old!