Castles · Tour

Private Regaleira with the Ticket in Hand, and the Sintra Historic Centre After

The Quinta da Regaleira on a private guided visit, with the entry ticket already bought, so the day starts at the gate rather than in the queue. The gardens come first: lakes, fountains and grottoes that open where nothing suggests an opening. Then the Initiation Well, the spiral staircase whose Masonic and alchemical symbolism is the reason the estate has the reputation it has. Tunnels and passages connect the whole thing underground. The palace itself is a Gothic, Renaissance and Manueline building that somehow holds together, and the story behind it is António Carvalho Monteiro's: an owner whose interest in esotericism decided the shape of every corner of the property. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it works for people who want the myths explained, for families, and for anyone who came to Sintra for the architecture rather than the view.