Pena Palace

About this place

This hilltop palace is a major expression of 19th-century Romanticism. Its deliberately varied architectural forms reinvent earlier styles to create an imaginative royal retreat above Sintra. Look for the contrasts between towers, courtyards and decoration rather than expecting the uniform design of a single medieval period. The palace belongs to a period fascinated by history, picturesque landscapes and imaginative combinations of older styles. Its hilltop setting was central to that effect, not merely a convenient building plot. Considering the surrounding scenery together with the architecture helps explain why the estate became such a powerful image of Romantic Sintra.