Pena Palace

The day started off with light cloud in Lisbon; Nancy who hates being cold packed her mid-layer and rain jacket, Doug who hates being warm went in a short sleeve and the felt he could have used his long. Train from Lisbon Rossio Station to Sintra took 40 minutes with the scenery noted to be high rises all the way even when there appeared to be undeveloped hilly land that would not be ideal for agriculture. All high rises have outdoor clothes lines and one thinks you had better have good clothes pins as some surely must be lost and travel down many stories. Nancy reflected on how much space and privilege we've enjoyed as a family in our housing as she saw a little boy peek out to look at the train from his fourth floor balcony hung with childrens' clothing out to dry. Reaching Sintra we felt we were "out in the country" and for the first time saw houses and on our way up the mountain to the Pena Palace, mansions, obviously a getaway place for others with $. Sintra was shrouded in mist, bus to get up to the top, line ups of people and tour groups allowed in by timed entry but rather disorganized. Once in the castle the route was well defined and we agreed that an audio guide was not necessary. In addition it appeared having a tour guide was not particularly worthwhile in that only a few people close to the guide could hear and sometimes the explanations were not as accurate as what was posted on the sign describing the room you were seeing.

The history of Sintra’s Pena Palace begun in the middle ages as a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena. In the 16th century King Manuel I ordered the construction of a monastery on the site.

It became a site for peaceful meditation for hundreds of years until the Great Lisbon Earthquake in 1755 destroyed it.

The site remained ruins for a while until King Ferdinand II decided to transform the site into a summer palace for the Portuguese Royal Family.

Reconstruction of the Pena Palace started in 1842 and lasted until 1854. It is an eclectic mix of architectural styles but is widely regarded as a wonderful exotic taste of the Romanticism architecture.

After frequently being used by the royal family for a few decades, it was purchased by the Portuguese State in 1889 and by 1910 it was classified as a national monument.Read more