Palácio Nacional da Pena

Sintra's hilltop palace: spectacular, but only realistic on a long port call

Listing reviewed October 2026 · Confirm hours and prices with the official venue before visiting

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Opening Hours

09:30 - 18:30

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Admission Price

€20 per adult

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Visit Duration

2.5-3 hours (palace and part of the park)

About This Attraction

Pena is the most photographed building in Portugal, but it is also the hardest of the classic sights to fit into a port day. Door to door from the Jardim do Tabaco terminal takes 75 to 90 minutes each way: metro to Restauradores, train from Rossio to Sintra (about 40 minutes), then Scotturb bus 434 or a tuk-tuk up the hill. Add at least two and a half hours on site and a safety margin, and it only works on calls of eight to nine hours or more, or with a ship excursion that guarantees the return. Palace tickets are sold for a specific date and time. Book online before you sail, and choose a slot around 10:30 to 11:00 to leave time for the journey; the first palace entry is at 09:30. Decide what you actually want. The Essential Visit (20 euros) includes the state rooms of the New Palace, the terraces and the whole park. The Park ticket (12 euros) skips the interior but still gives access to the palace terraces, the kitchen and the chapel, which is where the famous views are. If you mainly want the exterior and the views, the park ticket saves money and the queue inside the palace's narrow corridors, which can be slow at busy times. From the main park entrance to the palace is a steep uphill walk on a paved road. A return transfer costs 4.50 euros and can be added when you buy the ticket; on a tight schedule it is worth it. Private cars cannot drive up to the palace. Crowds build from mid-morning, when coach groups arrive, and stay heavy until mid-afternoon. The hilltop is often cooler, windier and mistier than Lisbon, so a light layer helps even in summer.

History

In the early 16th century King Manuel I founded a small Hieronymite monastery on this peak. After the monasteries were dissolved in 1834, the ruins were bought in 1838 by Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, husband of Queen Maria II. With the German engineer Baron von Eschwege he turned them into a summer palace, mixing Manueline, Moorish and Gothic references, and planted the surrounding hills with trees from across the world. The monastery's cloister and chapel survive inside the palace. The royal family used it until the monarchy fell in 1910.

Why It Matters

Pena is one of the earliest Romanticist palaces in Europe, built decades before Bavaria's Neuschwanstein, and the centrepiece of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, listed by UNESCO in 1995. The park is Portugal's most important arboretum. For a visitor, it is the clearest single example of 19th-century Portuguese royal taste, preserved with its original furnishings.

Photo Gallery

Palácio Nacional da Pena. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Tips for Cruise PassengersEssential Info

Difficult: metro, a 40-minute train and a bus up a winding hill road, then a steep climb from the park entrance to the palace (optional transfer available). The palace interior has many stairs.

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Time from port: At least 6 hours door to door (75-90 minutes each way plus 2.5-3 hours on site); realistic only on calls of 8-9 hours or more

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Palace entry is by timed ticket only; buy it on the official Parques de Sintra site before you sail and pick a slot around 10:30-11:00.

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If you mainly want the views and exterior, the 12-euro Park ticket includes the palace terraces, kitchen and chapel but not the state rooms.

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Add the 4.50-euro return transfer from the park entrance to the palace; the walk up is steep.

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Take the metro to Restauradores rather than Rossio station by taxi: it avoids Baixa traffic and the station is two minutes away.

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Bus 434 queues at Sintra station can be long in summer; a shared tuk-tuk is a quicker, costlier alternative.

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Closed 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January; also occasionally closed for high fire risk or extreme weather.

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Plan to be back at Rossio at least 90 minutes before all-aboard.

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Do not try to add Quinta da Regaleira on the same port day unless your call is 10 hours or longer.

What Makes This Special

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Red and ochre palace exterior, visible from much of the Sintra hills
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Palace terraces, including the Queen's Terrace and Triton's Terrace, with views to the Atlantic
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State rooms of the New Palace, including the Great Hall and Stag Room (Essential Visit)
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Surviving Manueline cloister and chapel of the 16th-century monastery
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85-hectare park with botanical collections from several continents
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Chalet of the Countess of Edla in the western part of the park
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High Cross, one of the highest points of the Sintra hills

Getting There

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Address

Estrada da Pena, Sintra

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From Cruise Port

Walk about 10 minutes to Santa Apolónia and take the metro Blue Line to Restauradores; Rossio station is a two-minute walk. Trains from Rossio reach Sintra in about 40 minutes. From Sintra station take Scotturb bus 434 (or a tuk-tuk or taxi) up to the Pena park entrance; private cars cannot go up to the palace. Allow 75 to 90 minutes door to door each way.

straighten36000m (Not walkable - too far)