[PORTUGAL] Sintra - Pena Palace

11:39 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

From the entrance to the park, I took a shuttle bus up to the hill where the palace is. The ticket is EUR 3 per adult, free for child under age 6.

There is still a short distance to walk to the palace after getting down from the shuttle bus.

My advice is visit Pena Palace as early as possible as this is the most popular site in Sintra. It gets really crowded in later hours. 

Immediately after the monumental gate comes a draw bridge that provides access to a tunnel that leads to the upper patios.

People were lining up to get in to see the palace's interior. No photographs allowed once inside the palace. However, visitors can still take photograph on the balcony of the palace.

Next, I headed to the Triton's Tunnel. The Triton is a mythological monster that is half-man and half-fish. After passing through this tunnel, I entered into the Courtyard of Arches.

Through the arches, I could see the vast landscape of Pena Park and the Sintra Hills.

The courtyard also has a nice view over of the new section of the palace that featured a clock tower. Here's a bit of history of Pena Palace. The history of this magical site dates back to the 12th century when there was a chapel dedicated to the Our Lady of Pena built here. King Manuel I later ordered the construction of a monastery on this site. In the 18th century, the monastery was severely damaged by lightning and earthquakes, reducing it into ruins. For many decades, the ruins remained untouched until King Ferdinand II acquired the old monastery and surrounding lands in 1838, and subsequently set out to transform it into a summer palace for the royal family.

One last of Pena Palace before I continued to explore Sintra. 

If you have time, do visit Pena Park. It is a lovely park with its own attractions.

Pena Palace and Park