A Month in Almoçageme, Portugal Part 4 – Moorish Castle, Pena Park & Palace, and Palacio de Monserrate

The fairytale continues! I visited Sintra several more times as there are so many cool things to see, and who doesn’t want to live in a dreamland for a moment?

On my walks to Convento dos Capuchos and Quinta da Regaleria, I passed by Monserrate Palace, a beautiful villa with Arabain architecture and a romantic interior, surrounded by traditional English gardens, as well as a Mexican garden. It looked so interesting at a distance, I had to get closer to see what it was all about!

When I arrived, it was totally empty, so I was able to explore the palace and the gardens at a peaceful pace. I started inside, the grand entrance surrounded by seemingly endless hallways. Off the hallways are beautiful rooms including a grand music room and a majestic salon.

Monseratte has been a retreat for many writers and has gone through numerous transitions over time. Most recently, Francis Cook, a 19th century British industrialist and art collector, along with his architect James Knowles Jr., added many of the romantic details, the gardens, and the intricate textures on the walls.

After exploring the inside, I made my way out to the beautiful gardens where I spent a couple of hours walking around, relaxing on the grass, and enjoying the views and beautiful fragrance from the abundant rose gardens.

Within the gardens there is also the remains of an old chapel now overgrown with vines.

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Another day, I visited the Moorish Castle, which I’d been eying up on the hill during my Sintra visits. One of the older sites, the Moorish Castle was founded in the 10th century during the period the Moors occupation of the Iberian Peninsula.

I entered through the back entrance, allowing me a quiet hike up the hill, but upon arriving, I found quite a few others climbing the giant rock steps. Although a bit busy, it was worth it for the breathtaking views over the valley and of the nearby hill holding the famous Pena Park and Palace, and it was an absolutely beautiful day!

Here are the views of Pena Palace and the National Palace of Sintra from the castle walls:

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For the cherry on top, I had to visit the most popular site, Pena Park and Palace, after staring her down on the top of the hill every time I visited Sintra. Due to the popularity, I had to book a ticket a week in advance to get a spot in the early morning time slot. Funny enough, the day I had my ticket was the only day the weather got bad. It had been a bit windy, but this day, it was misty and super foggy. Driving up, the palace wasn’t even visible, and once there, I couldn’t see anything from the palace. It was crazy, but also cool. I felt like I was on a journey back in time!

I was the first one to make the hike up the hill to the entrance, and was the first one inside the palace which was awesome! After a few minutes, I could hear the heard coming behind me, so I kept moving so they wouldn’t catch up. It was a bit creepy walking down some of the outside halls with the wind shaking the old windows, but I felt like I was protected from the wild weather in my special castle!

One thing I found particularly interesting in the palace was the detail on the ceilings in each room, all different and all super ornate!

And then it was time to go back out and brave the wind and mist….luckily it tried to clear up for a couple of minutes so I could get a few clearer shots.

When I finished touring the palace, most everyone else was still inside, so I headed for the park, having it almost all to myself too! The trails and the gardens are so lush and beautiful! Below you will see the gardeners cottage, the stables, the valley of the lakes, and the high cross.

And a visit to the chalet…which also had amazing ceilings inlaid with cork!

And, after all the fun, I hiked back down into town to complete the day. So many great views!

With this, the fairytale is coming to a close. One final post coming from Almoçageme and then time to move on and continue the journey!

Hugs and love and may all your fairytale dreams come true!

Michelle