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Palacio Nacional de Pena Review

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Palácio Nacional de Pena

  • Address: Estrada da Pena, Sintra
  • Phone: 21/910-5340

Fodor's Review:

The Disney-like, drawbridged Pena Palace is a glorious conglomeration of turrets and domes awash in pastels. In 1503 the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Pena was constructed on this amazing site, but it fell into ruins after religious orders were expelled from Portugal in 1832. Seven years later the ruins were purchased by Maria II's consort, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg. Inspired by the Bavarian castles of his homeland, Ferdinand commissioned a German architect to build the castle of his fantasies. Work began in 1844 and was finished in 1885 when he was Fernando II. Pena Palace is a collection of styles that range from Arabian to Victorian. The surrounding park is filled with trees and flowers from every corner of the Portuguese empire. A tram takes you from the park gate up to the palace. The enormous statue on a nearby crag is thought to be Baron Eschwege (the building's German architect) cast as a medieval knight. A path beyond the Baron Eschwege statue leads to the Cruz Alta, a 16th-century stone cross that's 1,782 feet above sea level. It's an arduous climb, especially in the summer sun, but the views from this altitude are stupendous.

The final kings and queens of Portugal lived in the Pena Palace, the last of whom—Queen Amília—went into exile in England after the Republic was proclaimed on October 5, 1910. The pseudo-medieval structure, with its ramparts, towers, and great halls, has a rich, sometimes vulgar, and often bizarre collection of Victorian and Edwardian furniture, ornaments, and paintings. Given these extravagances, it is no wonder that the people of Portugal, not the richest of countries by any means at the time, decided to discard the monarchy. There are placards explaining each room.

  • Cost: Palace EUR 4, combined ticket for park and palace EUR 7, free Sun. 10-2. Tram EUR 1.50
  • Open: Mid-Sept.-mid-June, Tues.-Sun. 10-5 (last admission 4:30); mid-June-mid-Sept., Tues.-Sun. 10-7 (last admission 6:15)
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