Monserrate Palace: the garden almost nobody sees

Monserrate Palace is the right answer to a question almost nobody asks: "where do you see Sintra without the crowds?" It sits outside the 434 bus loop, which alone cuts visitor numbers sharply — and what remains is an Indo-Moorish palace of 1858 surrounded by 33 hectares of botanical garden.

The place has a literary history. In the late 18th century the estate was leased by William Beckford, the English writer; in 1809 Lord Byron passed through Sintra and wrote about it in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, turning the hills into a destination of European Romanticism. The present palace was commissioned by Sir Francis Cook, an English textile magnate, from 1858.

The garden: the real reason to come

Monserrate's park was laid out as a botanical collection organised by region of the world, exploiting the natural watercourses and the slope. It is why people who have already seen everything in Sintra come back here.

• The Fern Valley. Tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand in a damp, shaded ravine. The most striking part of the park.
• The Mexican Garden. Cacti, agaves and dry-climate planting, in complete contrast to the fern valley a few minutes away.
• The Japanese Garden. Camellias and Asian species, the oldest planting on the estate.
• The ruined chapel. A Gothic ruin deliberately kept as a Romantic device, with a tree growing inside it.
• The rose garden and English lawn. Beside the palace, giving the most photographed view of the façade.

The palace

The plan is symmetrical, three domes linked by a central gallery. The interior decoration blends Indian, Moorish and Gothic references — plasterwork of remarkable delicacy, especially in the gallery and the music room. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes to walk through.

Unlike Pena, there is little period furniture here: the interest is architectural and decorative, not domestic. Anyone expecting furnished royal apartments leaves disappointed; anyone who comes for the architecture leaves thinking it is the most elegant building in Sintra.