Three Castles to Visit in Portugal

 Portugal is having a moment right now - it's a very popular place to visit as it's budget friendly for travelers, you can usually find English spoken and there's a lot to see and do including a plethora of historical sites. I stayed in Lisbon for a week and made several day trips including to these three castles/palaces/gardens. So here are three that are a day trip from Lisbon that you can easily do in a day!

National Palace and Gardens of Quelez

Three generations of the Portuguese Royal Family lived here and it's often called the Portuguese Versailles. It was built in the 18th century as a summer retreat for the royal family and is considered "a masterpiece of Rococo architecture." In fact, it was one of the last large Rococo style buildings built in Europe.

This palace was the home of Queen Maria I and her husband Dom Pedro III. As with most palaces, there is quite the history here. It started as a country house and was expanded the court, the Royal Guard and the entourage of servants. When the Napoleonic invasion happened in 1807, the Royal Family left for Brazil and the palace was never occupied again by court parties and celebrations. It has been part of the Parque de Sintra and is being renovated and restored - including restoring its former blue exterior color. 

We traveled here from Lisbon by train on an incredibly rainy day - it could be said that it was raining buckets - so instead of walking we took a taxi from the train station. (It was only about a 20 minute train ride from Lisbon) We went on the self guided tour which took about an hour and took in the glittering ballrooms and read the history of its occupants. It's a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon and you probably won't see many other tourists - I think there was a total of 10 other people there. 

Quinta de Regaleira

The Quinta de Regaleira, is a quinta, or country estate, built in 1904 that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in Sintra, the property consists of the house and chapel sitting on four acres of land. But the real star of the show here is the park like setting including a lake, grotto, wells, benches and fountains. 

Built by Carvalho Monteiro, he wanted to create a space that reflected his interests in alchemy and the Knights Templar. The park also includes an extensive system of tunnels linking the chapel, the lake, the grotto and a cave. 

The two "initiation wells" - or inverted towers - on the property never served as wells but were used for ceremonial purposes. At the bottom of the stairs is a cross of the Knights Templar, which Monteiro was thought to be a member of. 

As you can tell, this is a really unique - and mystical - property built by a really unique - and mystical - man. If you are in Sintra to see Pena Palace, then it's definitely worth a visit. Even though you can only walk through one floor of the house, the grounds are very much worth a visit.

Palmela's Castle

About a 40 minute drive from Lisbon, Palmela's Castle is located on one of the highest points in the Serra de Arrabida (Arrabida Mountains) making it a great spot to defend the surrounding lands. Started as a Roman fort in the 2nd century, records go back to 1205 when the king bestowed the land and castle to the Order of Sant Iago de Espada. Later a convent would be built here which was active from 1443 to 1834. After a period of being abandoned, restoration work started in 1945. 

We visited here on a day tour from Lisbon that also included 2 wineries. It was our first stop of the day and it didn't disappoint. The views are phenomenal and thought the castle is somewhat in ruins, the restoration of the chapel is fantastic - la Igreja de Santiago (Church of Saint James)

Entry is free and there were few tourists here. I'm pretty sure I would never have visited here if it wasn't part of our tour - it's not as well known as Sintra, perhaps. We had about an hour to walk around but be forewarned there is no audio tour or tour to take but there are historical signs to read. For those that are interested in staying the night, there is a 4 star pousada (inn) that gets excellent reviews.

How about you? Have you been to any of these castles?