Sintra

Visit to Quinta da Regaleira and the Palacio do Monserrate at Sintra.

The Quinta da Regaleira has a Romantic era palace and chapel set in a large park that features grottos, wells, and fountains. The estate belonging to the Regaleira family of Porto was sold in 1892. At that time it already had an elegant house and chapel, but the new owner added further parcels of land and construction and remodelling of the house and gardens began in 1898 and continued until 1910 when it was much as it appears today.

The Palacio do Monserrate, which is built upon the ruins of an earlier house started by Gerard de Visme 1790, and then improved by William Beckfford 1793, was designed by Sir Francis Cook, an english merchant, in 1850's and is set in a botanical garden containing species collected from all over the world. The palace is typical of the Romantic period and contains an eclectic mix of styles.