The Discover Portugal blog contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. See the Disclaimer for more information.
Complete Guide to Park and Palace of Monserrate Sintra
The neo-gothic Monserrate Palace and Park (Parque e Palácio de Monserrate) is tucked away in the mountains of Serra de Sintra in Portugal. It is one of the most beautiful palaces in this area, but it is often quieter here than at the well-known attractions. A true hidden gem!
To enjoy beautiful gardens, architecture, and a peaceful natural setting, visiting Monserrate Palace should not be missed! The park contains unique plants from all over the world, and it’s one of the most beautiful in the region.
It’s our favourite Sintra palace, and we often stay several hours in the garden. You can even get married here if you like, and we have been thinking about taking our elopement pictures here. We visit usually once a year and whenever we have friends or family over.
If you have time besides visiting Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira, I would highly recommend adding Monserrate Palace Sintra to your wish list. In this guide, you’ll learn how to get there and what you can expect.
Park and Palace of Monserrate Overview
Not sure where to go in Portugal?
Take the free Portugal travel quiz and find the destination that best matches your travel style. You’ll get your result plus practical tips to help you start planning your trip.
The fascinating history of Monserrate Palace Portugal
The story of Monserrate Palace in Sintra starts in 1540. Friar Gaspar Preto arranged the construction of a hermitage dedicated to Our Lady of Monserrate. The chapel was built on the hill where the palace now stands. The All Saints Hospital of Lisbon owned the construction.
Sixty years later, in 1601, the property was leased to the Mello e Castro family, and the Quinta da Monserrate house was purchased in 1718. In 1755, an earthquake struck, damaging the house to an uninhabitable state.
Thankfully, in 1790, Gerard de Visme, an English merchant, started renting the property and built the first palace on the foundation of the chapel ruins.
In the years to come, William Beckford rented the house until Sir Francis Cook bought Monserrate Palace in 1856. The textile millionaire used the Palácio de Monserrate as his summer residence for the Cook family, and the palace was fully restored.
In 1949, the Portuguese government bought the site. The Sintra Hills, where Parque e Palácio de Monserrate is located, has been classified as UNESCO Cultural Landscape World Heritage since 1995 and a Monument of Public Interest since 1978.
After extensive refurbishments of the building by the Portuguese state, Monserrate Palace Sintra opened its doors again in 2010.
The interior of Palácio de Monserrate
When novelist William Beckford rented Monserrate Palace, the building was still in ruins. Nonetheless, one day, poet Lord Byron visited and even wrote about the Palácio de Monserrate in the poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. The palace also appeared on the TV mini-series Gulliver’s Travels in 1996.
This caught widespread English interest in the property, such as the attention of Sir Francis Cook. Francis Cook also had enough money to rebuild the palace. He worked with architect James Knowles, and the neo-gothic design was inspired by Romanticism and Mudéjar Moorish Revival architecture.
The palace is Sintra Romanticism at its finest, and the entrance to the palace is included in your ticket. You will explore the main hall with the Carrara marble fountain. From this point, you can look into the stunning central hall dome, richly decorated with marble jalis from the Jaipur region in India.
From the main hallway, you can enter the billiards room, the Indian drawing room, the entrance hall, the library, and the music room. Underneath the dining room, you’ll spot a small set of stairs leading to the underground kitchen area.
Upstairs was reserved for the bedrooms, and nowadays, it hosts an exhibition about the palace’s history. There is photo material on a display of the latest renovation, and you can watch a short movie with the last resident of the palace.
Monserrate Park
Sintra Monserrate Palace is absolutely gorgeous, but so are the gardens: Monserrate Park has numerous caves, springs, fountains, and lakes. The terrace leads you to the gardens, where you will discover waterfalls, unique plants, a fern valley, and winding paths.
The garden is organised according to geographical descent, and rare and exotic species can be found. Highlights are the Mexican garden, the rose garden, and the Japanese garden.
Botanist William Neville, landscape designer William Stockdale, and the master gardener James Burt all helped create the Romanticism-inspired garden of Monserrate. How beautiful it is to get married here or do your wedding images/elopement at Monserrate Palace?
Depending on the season, you’ll find regional strawberries and colourful flowers in the garden. Cork oaks, palm trees, arboreal ferns, agaves, and bamboo stretch as far as the eye can see.
In the middle of this lush greenery, you’ll find the chapel ruins, which replaced the Chapel of Our Lady of Monserrate. We considered our Monserrate Palace wedding here, but we married in Lisbon in the end. But what a location this would be!
If you’re not in a rush, a visit to both the Park and Palace of Monserrate will take around 3 hours.
How to get to Monserrate Palace Sintra
To Sintra by train
Take the Sintra Line from Rossio station in Lisbon. The journey only takes 40 minutes and will cost you € 2,40 for a single trip. You can buy your tickets at Rossio station or any metro station at the ticket counters or machines.
If you stay close to Parque das Nações, you can take the train from Oriente Station. Trains leave every 20 to 30 minutes, depending on where you depart.
The bus to Monserrate Palace
There is also a bus that drives to the Monserrate Palace and gardens. Bus 435 leaves from Sintra Station to Palácio de Monserrate. Scotturb offers a hop-on-hop-off service between many palaces in the area. A day ticket for the Monseratte Palace bus is available online for € 13,50.
🚌 Book tickets online for the 434 Pena Palace & 435 Monserrate Palace bus
If you come from Cascais or Estoril, you can take lines 403 or 418. When you have the energy, you can walk also. It will take you around an hour to get there, though. Also, note that the landscape is hilly and might take longer, depending on your fitness levels. The route is just over 4 kilometres (2.6 miles).
By taxi
Monserrate Palace is located in the middle of the Sintra Hills. The easiest way to get there is by taxi. It takes around 15 minutes to get from the train station or Sintra Town.
Taxis are also available from Lisbon’s city centre, and you’ll be driven straight to Palácio de Monserrate.
By car
I don’t recommend driving to Sintra. The roads are for local traffic mostly and as the town is busy, you’ll be stuck in traffic a lot. Saying that, Monserrate Palace is of the easier palaces in Sintra to reach by car. If you rent a car, there is a small Monserrate Palace parking area where you can park your vehicle.
Excursions to Monserrate Palace from Lisbon
If you are short on time, prefer everything organized, and don’t have to worry about buses and trains, a day trip from Lisbon may be the best option. There are a variety of excursions, but the most popular tours visit monuments and top attractions like Palácio da Pena and the Moorish Castle.
These tours often combine a stop at Cabo da Roca and Cascais. Here, you’ll have stunning views over the Atlantic Ocean! Unfortunately, the offer for tours to the Monserrate Palace is smaller, but it is slowly expanding. Private tours from Lisbon are also available. Find out which excursions to Sintra suit you best, or check the banner.
Sintra Monserrate Palace opening hours
You can visit Monserrate’s garden from 9 AM until 7 PM. The last ticket sale for the garden is at 5:30 PM, and the last admission is at 6 PM.
The Palace of Monserrate is open from 9:30 AM and closes at 6 PM. Tickets are sold until 5 PM; the last admission is at 5:30 PM.
Tickets for Monserrate Palace and gardens
Monserrate Palace is less crowded than the other highlights in Sintra, but buying skip-the-line tickets is always a good idea. That way, you can easily skip the line and save time.
Skip-the-line Monserrate Palace tickets cost €12.00 per person. For children ages 6 to 17, tickets cost €10.00.
🏰🌵 Book your tickets online to safe time!
Are you buying tickets at Monserrate Palace? Then keep in mind that the ticket office is closed from noon to 1 pm. There is a ticket machine where you can purchase tickets at that time.
Guided tours are available daily and can be booked at the visitor centre. In addition, an audio guide is available for a fee.
Other things to do in Sintra
After you have visited Monserrate Palace, it is time to see another dream palace nearby! One day in Sintra is often insufficient to see more than one or two sights. The town is also the home of the famous Pena Palace, Quinta da Regaleira, Convent of the Capuchos, and the Moorish Castle. You can visit the National Palace and the botanical garden Parque da Liberdade in Sintra Town.
Especially during the summer season, some palaces and sights can get very busy. For example, you must order a ticket upfront for Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira. The calendar will show you which times are available.
The Castelo dos Mouros and Palácio Nacional queue is often shorter, but a skip-the-line ticket will save you heaps of time! On busy days, you might be able to visit two sights; in the low season, maybe three, albeit it would be a bit rushed.
Travelling independently lets you discover other stunning places along the Atlantic coast and Colares. Examples are Azenhas do Mar and Ursa Beach. Colares is an amazing place to enjoy a beach holiday in summer, and there are many other palaces and gardens to discover.
Hotels in Sintra
When visiting Sintra, staying one or two nights is ideal to see more sights. The town gets quieter at night, and there are many lovely places to eat (try Bacalhau na Vila for lunch and the famous Queijadas da Sapa with coffee). You’ll be the first in line at the fabulous sights in the morning!
There is a wide variety of hotels and apartments suitable for every budget. Our favourite luxury hotel is Valverde Sintra Palácio de Seteais! But we also loved staying at MouraLua, which is more budget-friendly.
Not sure where to go in Portugal?
Take the free Portugal travel quiz and find the destination that best matches your travel style. You’ll get your result plus practical tips to help you start planning your trip.
FAQ
Is Monserrate Palace worth visiting?
Monserrate Palace is one of the most beautiful palaces in Sintra. It is less busy than the famous attractions, and the park is one of the best in Portugal.
How much time do you need at Monserrate Palace?
To see the palace, you need around 45 minutes to one hour. If you want to visit the park and chapel ruins, you can easily stay between 2 and 4 hours.
Who lived in Monserrate Palace?
Monserrate Palace was once the summer residence of the Cook Family. Before Francis Cook, William Beckford lived in the palace. The Melo e Castro family lived here in the 18th century.
Conclusion
If you are on vacation in Portugal and have the time, a one- or two-day getaway to Sintra should not be missed! Monserrate Palace is totally worth it. Especially if you want to avoid the crowds of the other monuments. Learn more about the history of the English merchant Gerard de Visme, Lord Byron, and the Cook family.
The gardens of the former summer residence are filled with plants from all over the world. You’re also surrounded by the mountains and greens of Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais. There are many hiking trails in these mountains and plenty more sights to discover nearby. Are you already looking forward to visiting Sintra?
More things to do in Sintra
- How to get to Palácio da Pena in Sintra
- Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra, a guide to visit this magical UNESCO site
- Complete Guide to Park and Palace of Monserrate Sintra
- Sintra day trips from Lisbon; discover the best excursions
- The hidden gem in Sintra; Discover the ancient Convent of the Capuchos
- Beautiful Cabo da Roca Portugal; most westernmost point of Europe
- Biester Palace, a beautiful hidden gem in Sintra
- Sintra National Palace: Discover the beautiful palace close to Lisbon
- Lisbon Sintra by train Travel Guide + 8 top sights to visit
- Discover the picturesque coastal town Azenhas do Mar near Sintra
- Visit the beautiful Castle of the Moors (Castelo dos Mouros) in Sintra
- 8 irresistible beaches in Sintra to visit during your holiday
- How to get to stunning Praia da Ursa
- Beautiful Queluz National Palace, a hidden gem in Sintra
Pin to read later!
