Castles · Tour

Regaleira on a Timed Entry Ticket, No Guide, and the Chapel Windows

A timed entry ticket to the Quinta da Regaleira, and the estate at whatever pace you set. The Initiation Well, the palace, the gardens, the chapel and the grottoes are all covered by it. The well is the obvious place to start: a stone staircase spiralling down inside the hill, built as a figure of initiation and connected by tunnels to the rest of the property. The mansion is next, carved over every surface, with large rooms and balconies looking out over Sintra. Then the gardens, which are a labyrinth on purpose. Fountains, grottoes, sculpture and more tunnels, laid out to an esoteric plan drawn from Freemasonry, alchemy and mythology, so the route you take is part of the design. The chapel is worth the walk for the stained glass and the religious motifs worked into it.