Fodor's Expert Review Praça da República

Facing the tourist information office, this pretty square is anchored by the 16th-century Palácio de Tavora (Tavora Palace), which is not open to the public but has an interesting history. In the 18th century, the Marquês de Pombal accused the Duke of Aveiro, who owned the palace, of collaborating in the assassination plot against the king. Subsequently the duke was executed by the marquês, and the Tavora coat of arms was erased from the Sala das Armas in Sintra's National Palace.