Biester Palace: the neo-Gothic house Sintra kept hidden for a century

Biester Palace — also called Casa Biester — is a late 19th-century Romantic residence built on the slope above Sintra's historic centre. The work is attributed to the architect José Luís Monteiro, and the result is a neo-Gothic exercise with a turret, pointed windows and stained glass, far more restrained than Pena's exuberance.

The property stayed private and closed to the public for over a century. It became internationally recognisable without anyone being able to go in: it was one of the locations for Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate in 1999. It finally opened to visitors in 2022.

What you visit

• The interiors. Rooms with carved woodwork, plasterwork and original stained glass, restored in the campaign that preceded public opening.
• The Romantic park. A terraced garden on the slope, with winding paths, artificial grottoes and viewpoints over the town.
• The chapel. Small, built into the ensemble, decorated in the same neo-Gothic register.
• The views. From the upper garden you see the National Palace of Sintra and, on a clear day, Pena in the distance.

It is a medium-scale visit: more interesting than the time it takes, and without the crowds of the hilltop monuments.