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Santa Eufémia

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    • TravelerPortugal
      21
      Day 3

      Day Tour Stop 2: Pena Palace

      May 8 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      The ride and remaining walk up to this Palace was steep. The horses back in the day had their work cut out for them pulling carriages and supplies. The people who had to walk would have been in great shape. It is a beautiful Palace and the views were fantastic. We could see across to the Moorish Castle that we were looking up at from Sintra. The triton over the entrance to the Palace was sure interesting. Many of their animal portrayals on the outside of the building were quite funny. The lion looked like a monkey and the snakes were cartoonish, not daunting at all!! The colors on the Palace are not original and were done without permission of the government, a no no. There is some interesting history if you look up Pena Palace in Sintra.Read more

    • TravelerCamino De Santiago - Portugues
      1
      Day 3

      Pena Palace

      April 6 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

      Today we tried something different and joined a bus tour that took us out of Lisbon to Pena Palace, then to the town of Sintra, next to Cabo da Roca, and finished up in Cascais. It turned out to be a very full day.

      The Pena Palace began as a monastery and then in 1755 an earthquake practically turned it into a ruin. In 1836, Queen Maria II married Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a prince from Belgium. Ferdinand began renovating the monastery and expanded it to the palace of today to hold his family of 11 children.      Read more

    • TravelerMerLina meets Portugal 🏄🏼‍♀️
      2
      Day 14

      Parque da Pena

      August 22, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Heute war ein toller Tag. Irina und ich sind sind erstmal zusammen mit dem Auto zu einem Schloss gefahren. Die Fahrt dahin war extrem witzig, denn wir standen total im Stau und haben ganz laut die Musik mitgesungen. Vor uns war allerdings so eine Art Kutsche und die Leute haben uns die ganze Zeit beobachtet und schlapp gelacht. Naja, dann sind wir fast beim Schloss angekommen und sind aber aus Versehen falsch abgebogen. Die Straßen dort sind total schmal und wir konnten nicht wenden. Dann haben wir es endlich geschafft umzudrehen. Es kam allerdings ein fetter Bus und wir haben nicht nebeneinander die Straße lang gepasst. Dazu muss man wissen, dass Lissabon total hügelig ist und es super schwer ist, dort Auto zu fahren, weil man durchgehend auf steilen Hängen anfahren muss. Na ja, Irina hat dreimal vor dem Bus abgewürgt, bis sie es geschafft hat. Jedenfalls mussten wir wegen dem Bus noch mal umdrehen und sind dann einfach weitergefahren, bis wir bei diesem Park ankamen. Der war total schön ging allerdings extrem viel auf und ab.Read more

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    • Traveler2024: Morocco & Camino Torres
      Day 3

      Pena Palace in Sintra, Portugal

      April 4 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

      My “blog” so far is much more just a collection of photos, but I will try to get back to each footprint with some verbiage. It can be hard to keep up with living the experience and also documenting it.Read more

    • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
      11
      Day 15

      Sintra, Portugal, May 1, 2024

      May 1 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

      We visited the Palacio de Pena and the Castelo de Mouro. Both are on hills so we had to walk up (because the bus we were on got stuck in traffic) and then walk down a pretty nice path into town. The last kings and queens of Portugal lived part time in the Palacio de Pena which was a convent before royalty converted it into a palace. The Castelo de Mouro dates back to the 12th century when the Moors controlled the areaRead more

    • TravelerCamino de Santiago
      1
      Day 45

      Tramping up to Pena Palace, well fuelled

      May 6 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      The crisp linen bewitched me and for a brief moment I considered bunking off the breakfast, served 8 to 10am in a cafe up the road, in order to continue my clockwork exploration of sleeping positions (that's how I know it's wider than I am tall).

      Shaking off this siren song, I got up there at 9.30, waved past some disappointed visitors into the 'closed' cafe upon flashing my ticket with that most wonderful of phrases "for you, it's open". I proceeded to have, rivaled by Braga alone, one of the best breakfasts in both food and service of the trip. I took the pastel de nata and a slab of fruit bread for walking snacks, and rolled back to bed until check out at 12.

      When I did, the host and I discussed my plans to go to Pena Palace, the gardens only, and she told me her favourite spot in the 500 acres - an area the queen liked so much she had a throne carved into the rock so she could admire the view in style. It's hard to find, she warned, but if I did I was to show her the photos please.

      It wasn't bad walking on the roads yesterday but when I heard that there were hiking trails, if rather half-heartedly signed, I was determined to use them. It didn't inspire much confidence at the start but it was in the right general direction and incline (my wayfinding criteria for the remainder of the day it would turn out) so I stuck with it and it really paid off.

      I popped out onto the road with just a few switch backs to go, and it was hellish traffic so I was very pleased to have avoided that.      Read more

    • TravelerPORTUGAL 2023
      Day 3

      Pena Palace

      March 27, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

      Instead of takin the bus from the train station, we were enticed by a smooth talking tour guide to get a ride up the hill in the comfort of his car and listen to the history of Peña Palace. Just to make sure you’re paying attention, there is a quiz at the end. The bus cost is 7 euro and his informative and educational conveyance is only 10 euro.
      We got underway almost immediately, stopping only to try and rope in another customer from the train station as there was one empty seat in the car. He talked non stop for the 12 minute journey covering history from the Muslim occupation of the Iberian Peninsula to King Ferdinand II and his actress second wife. We had a photo opportunity once when we stopped behind the bus we didn’t take. He rolled down my widow for an unobstructed view.
      Dianne and I realized when we parted company that the bus ticket was round trip. We would have to walk back to town..      Read more

    • TravelerEurope 2023
      Day 8

      Pena Palace

      April 29, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      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

    • TravelerElternzeit durch Südeuropa
      11
      Day 24

      Im Nebel der Berge von Sintra

      June 24, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      So heute mal etwas kürzer, da schon spät und ein sehr ereignisreichen Tag. Heute waren wir in Sintra und haben uns den Palacio Nacional de Pena anschauen wollen. Bei der Erklimmung des malerisch gelegenen Idylls in den Bergen vor Lissabon hätte uns aber schon klar sein müssen, welch Besuchermagnet dieser Ort ist. Es waren wirklich Massen und wir haben einen Besucherslot bekommen, bei dem wir über 2 Stunden auf Einlass hätten warten müssen. So haben wir uns gegen die Besichtigung entschieden und sind zum nahe gelegenen Castello los Mouros, welches Aufgrund seiner Lage und der immer mal aufkommenden guten Sicht auch sehr imposant war. In dem Bereich um die Berge von Sintra hat man häufig diesiges Wetter, da die aufgeheizten Berge die feuchte Meeresluft anziehen. Es kamen richtige Schwaden über den Berg gezogen. Naemi dachte erst an Waldbrände oder Saharastaub. Bei dem Abstieg kamen wir an einem Stadtfest mit Rummel und traditioneller Chormusik vorbei und Selma ritt einmal das Ariel -Pferd auf dem Karussell und loste an einem Stand für karitative Zwecke eine Schale für ihre Milchzähne und zwei Kuscheltiere, welche ihr aus Mitleid ihres ersten Zugs noch von den netten Frauen vom Stand mitgegeben wurden. Und nun stellt euch das Gegenteil von Stadtfest mit Rummel vor. Einem Tip folgend sind wir im Anschluss noch zu einer weiteren Gemüsekooperative gefahren, bei der es allerlei musikalisches und kulinarisches zu bieten gab. Die musikalische Untermalung und die Gespräche verschiedenster Leuten und das Kennenlernen neuer Menschen waren sehr nett und die Zeit verging wie im Flug. Selma genoss endlich mal wieder Kinder um sich herum und wollte gar nicht mehr weg...Read more

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    • TravelerCamino de Santiago
      111
      Day 45

      Pena Palace

      May 6 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

      I'm aware I have a slight reputation for thinking I'm always right, but days like today really shore that up and after a while you do sort of have to look at the stats and reach a conclusion.

      The garden only ticket is the way to bloody go. There's f i v e h u n d r e d acres of cool stuff, tiny unsigned paths you can get lost on, buildings, lakes, animals, and rocks you can climb.

      What's more you can go round the entire outside of the castle, and not have to a) select a time slot when you buy your ticket and then stress about being there on time and b) stand around in the probably 400m long queue to shuffle through an interior which by all accounts is less interesting than the exterior.

      You can walk past them and have a squiz and leave. It was EXCELLENT. And it was cheaper. I am right.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Santa Eufémia, Santa Eufemia

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