Private tours in Lisbon & surroundings
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Program
Leave Lisbon and stop at Queluz, one of Portugal's most sumptuous palaces. Commissioned in 1747 and long used as the
summer residence for royals, it is the country's finest example of Rococo architecture. Extensive eighteenth century formal
gardens are preserved as a museum also in Rocaille style.
Proceed to Quinta da Regaleira, an estate located near the historic center of Sintra. It is classified as a World Heritage Site
by UNESCO within the "Cultural Landscape of Sintra". Along with other palaces in this area (such as the Pena,
Monserrate and Seteais palaces), it is one of the principal tourist attractions of Sintra. It consists of a romantic palace and
chapel, and a luxurious park featuring lakes, grottoes, wells, benches, fountains, and a vast array of exquisite constructions.
Driving through the twisted roads of Sintra mountain we arrive to Capuchos convent, the smallest convent in Portugal, dug
in the granite rock of Sintra. Hidden in the woods, the bewitchingly hobbit-hole-like convent was built in 1560 to house 12
monks who lived in incredibly cramped conditions, their tiny cells having low, narrow doors.
Next is Mafra convent and palace: dating from the XVIII century, one of the biggest constructions in Europe, all made of
marble, with 5,200 doorways, 2,500 windows, 880 halls and rooms, 154 staircases, 29 courtyards, and two bell towers
boasting the world's largest collection of bells (57 in each) that can be heard for 24km (15 miles) away.
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An impressive building telling about the wealth of king John V. The Church of this huge Monastery is also remarkable for the quality of its pink and gray
marbles and has a 200 feet high dome. Don’t miss the library which is 90 meters long and has 40.000 rare books.
Close by is Franco house with small houses and monuments of Portugal. In the village of Sobreiro, visitors can enjoy this model village, complete in every
detail, produced by José Franco who worked in clay and created this mechanized town, which recreates life like it was in the old days. The space is full of
miniatures that are mainly moved by water (shops, houses and villages).
Finally we arrive at Ericeira fishermen village and Atlantic Ocean resort. Perched on cliffs overlooking the sea, Ericeira is famous for its beautiful beaches.
With its narrow cobblestone streets, characteristic housing, singular monuments, the sea, the fishing, the cuisine, the bold Atlantic views, Ericeira is also
internationally renowned as a surfing spot.
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Queluz National Palace is a Portuguese 18th-century palace is one of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in
Europe. The palace was conceived as a summer retreat for Dom Pedro of Braganza, later to become husband and then king
consort to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It served as a discreet place of incarceration for Queen Maria as her descent into
madness continued in the years following Dom Pedro's death in 1786. Queluz Palace became the official residence of the
Portuguese prince regent, John VI, and his family and remained so until the Royal Family fled to Brazil in 1807 following the
French invasion of Portugal. Work on the palace began in 1747. Despite being far smaller, the palace is often referred to as the
Portuguese Versailles and today is open to the public as a major tourist attraction.
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Regaleira palace is also known as "Palace of Monteiro the Millionaire", from the nickname of its first owner and he
designed the 4-hectare estate with its enigmatic buildings, believed to hide symbols related to alchemy, Masonry, the
Knights Templar, and the Rosicrucians. The architecture of the estate evokes Roman, Gothic, Renaissance and Manueline
architectural styles.
The palace has five floors. The ground floor contains a series of hallways connecting the living room, dining room, billiards
room, balcony, some smaller rooms and several stairways. In turn, the first upper floor contains bedrooms and a dressing
room. The second upper floor contains Carvalho Monteiro's office, and female servants' bedrooms. The third upper floor
contains the ironing room and a smaller room with access to a terrace. Finally, the basement contains the male servants'
bedrooms, the kitchen, and storage rooms.
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Convento dos Capuchos in Sintra is one of the most bizarre attractions the town has to offer. Located deep in the woods, the
Convento is a hobbit-like building. The architect purposely designed the Convento dos Capuchos to have low ceilings,
narrow doorways, and small spaces. The result is that visitors feel as if they've stepped into a magical world for tiny beings.
This little monastery, constructed amid the rocks of Sintra in fulfilment of a vow by Dom Álvaro de Castro (1560), its cells
and dependencies lined with cork, is a wonderful example of Christian austerity in its simplicity of decoration and meagre
materials and space. The little chapel, the refectory, the living quarters, almost troglodyte in dimension, are cut into the crags,
and underline the intention of meditation inherent in the project.
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Commonly called «Mafra Convent» includes the Palace, the Monastery, the Library and the Basilica. The building of the
most opponent Portuguese Baroque monument began in 1717, under the supervision of the German architect Friedrich
Ludwig. The works were concluded by 1730. The façade is about 660 ft long, with the Basilica in the middle and the
Palace and the Monastery on each side. The marble came from the quarries of Pêro Pinheiro and Sintra, the wood from
Brazil. From France, Belgium, Italy and Holland arrived the bells, the statues, the carillons, the silver table ware and the
chandeliers. All this amounts to an enormous building with 880 rooms, 300 cells, 4500 doors and windows, 154 staircases
and 29 courtyards. The Royal Palace was a summer residence, besides lodging the Court during the hunting season. An
enormous corridor crosses the palace, giving access to all its rooms and chambers. The magnificent Library, kept by the
friars, has about 36 thousand rare books!
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Ericeira is a fishing village 50 km (31 miles) northeast of Lisbon. It has has the Atlantic Ocean as an eternal companion. Out
of this relationship, the sun has given the best of its light and an ocean of traditions has been born. The hospitality of its
people, the harmony of the "old village" with its narrow cobblestone streets, characteristic housing, singular monuments, the
sea, the fishing, the cuisine, the bold Atlantic views and the multiplicity of cultural programming interlace here in a grand way
to welcome its visitors. Picturesquely located above the steep and rocky coast, full of clefts and caves, Ericeira, which has a
long tradition as a little port and fishing village, has come increasingly to rely on earnings from tourism generated by the
nearby beaches.
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