My brother in his infinite wisdom decided he wanted to drive back to Lisbon from Porto Covo to see the Pena Palace. At least I would still have a chance to see this beautiful palace. Once again the rain poured down. Hopefully this would be left behind once we crossed the bridge.
A whimsical shot through the skylight of the car
This aqueduct was built between 1731 and 1799. Consisting of 35 arches and reaching 65 metres high. It has been classified a national monument. I love feats of engineering like this, and find it interesting to research the history.
Arriving up at the palace, Graham searched for a car park, thankfully dropping us off at the entrance first. He found one way down the hill. We were lucky with the tickets, as the next entry was just a 30 minute wait.
Heading into the palace itself, each at our own pace!
I’m happy to say that we did go back as Pena Palace is absolutely stunning. Especially now that the sun had made an appearance. The bright yellow of the walls against the blue sky was dazzling.
It really was a fairy tale palace
From above and below
An alcove made entirely of shells. You would be forgiven if you thought I had brush stroked the left photo! Instead it has been replastered, maybe waiting to be restored with shells.
Beautifully set dining table and a photo Queen Amelie and her two sons.
A few samples of the intricately tiled walls I came across. I was thinking bottom right for my bathroom and bottom left for the kitchen floor.
Majestic statue of a Moor
Some information on Pena Palace.
The castle stands on the top of a hill in the Sintra Mountains above the town of Sintra. On a clear day it can be easily seen from Lisbon. It is a national monument and is built in the style of 19th-century Romanticism. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The first building on this site was built in the Middle Ages. Construction of a chapel started after an apparition of the Virgin Mary. In 1493 a monastery was also built.
In the 18th century the monastery was severely damaged by lightning. It was the 1755 earthquake, occurring shortly afterwards, that took the heaviest toll on the monastery, reducing it to ruins.
Rebuilt in 1842 by King Ferninand it stayed in the Royal Family until 1899. Queen Amelie spent her last night here before being exiled after the Portuguese Revolution. Edited from Pena Palace, Wikipedia.
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Talk about flights of fancy! It’s completely crazy, Ali, in an amazing way. You got some wonderful photos so many thanks for taking me back there. A winter visit is much better in terms of crowds and you hit lucky with the weather xx
Thanks Jo, it was such a good day 😊
Well worth a visit
Yes it was, I’m glad we made the trip back
We stayed in Sintra back in the summer on a journey through Portugal. Lovely town but unfortunately they closed the Palace due to the heat and the threat of wildfires so we didn’t get to see the interior
I didn’t think I would after my disaster of a day in Lisbon so happy we made the trip. It was worth it
I wish I’d known you were going to be in Lisbon, Ali – we found THE most amazing wine bar there…
My brother did take me to a secret bar, which I posted about.
I absolutely promise I’ll catch up reading in the next few days, especially as our Portugal tour was so recent. One day Ali the stars will align and we’ll raise a glass together in a wine bar somewhere in the world. Hope so anyway!
No worries Phil, yes one day for sure 😊
I didn’t have time to visit the Pena Palace on my one brief visit to Sintra, unfortunately. It looks amazing, especially the vivid yellow paint and those tiles!
Thanks Sarah, definitely worth the effort 🙂
Allison, I’m glad you made the effort. It’s hard to visit Portugal and skip the palace. Beautiful photos.
Thanks Suzanne ☺️
Pena Palace and all of Sintra is a remarkable wacky place isnt it. Were you allowed to take pictures? We couldn’t and they watched us closely. Maggie
Yes I took so many photos, the ones in the post 😬
those old aqueducts are just amazing- how they could build such an ingenious water transport system with the tools and materials they had just blows my mind
You think along the same lines Meg 😊
It was worth trying a second time. What a spectacular building and you ended up with great weather too.
It is a must see when you visit Lisbon