A Highlight of Portugal: Monseratte Palace

Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words.  I'll keep the commentary brief and let them speak for themselves.

Location: Monseratte Palace, Sintra, Portugal

Getting there: 

Half hour outside of Lisbon by train.  Trains run multiple times per day.  The train station in Sintra is a brief, easy and beautiful walk away from the town center.  Follow the other tourists down, or catch one of multiple taxis waiting.

The visitor center has maps and information on the area, including which buses go to which castles.  Stop by to get the most recent information before proceeding.

Getting around:

Taxis are available but expensive.  Instead consider the buses.  These are geared towards tourists, run in loops and have fantastically easy-to-understand signage.  The drivers are trained to address touristy issues, and locations are announced when they arrive at them.  This is one of the easiest bus routes I've come across, and shouldn't be a concern for anyone.

Sights:

Most cities in Europe have a proportionate number of castles to their population and general importance.  Sintra missed this memo.  As a result, they have a plethora of very different and absolutely stunning castles.  There is a Moorish castle which mostly lies in ruins across the mountaintop, a castle designed by a Hollywood set designer in the early 1900s, a fairy-tale palace resting on the top of a hill (with a fantastic restaurant!), and the stunning Monseratte Palace.  The sights can be sizable, and the savvy tourist would choose several to visit rather than trying to cover them all.

For my vote, Monseratte was a favorite.  The interplay of light and shadow in the building is enough to drive photography geeks nuts, and the detailing in the building is sumptuous.  Not to sway  your trip, but below are pictures of this beautiful palace, highlighting why a trip to Sintra is well worth the effort.

Monseratte Palace exterior

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Many of the ceilings were stunningly ornate.

Another ceiling.

It's possible I'm obsessed with ceilings...

There was some construction onsite, however they didn't cordon off the areas and it was fascinating to see the work in progress.  Most of the building was complete however, so this wasn't burdensome.

This gives an idea of the state the original was in before the renovation began.

The library: empty of books, but with another phenomenal ceiling!

The carved wooden door to the library.  Very difficult to get a shot that included the entire door, which was substantial and absolutely stunning.

Besides the ceilings, the walls and windows had ornate detailing.

The main entryway from above.

A statue in a still fountain.

For photographers, the cast of light and shadow in this building was like a toy to play with.

One of the main hallways.  You can see how ornate the latticework was over the arches.

A lone fountain at the end of one of the hallways.  It wasn't running but did have water.

The exterior of the building was in many ways as ornate as the interior, and just as fun to shoot.

Looking back, besides ceilings I might also have an obsession with windows.

Monseratte Palace is not a busy tourist destination.  It was easy to wander alone through the garden paths, though a bit of patience was required for some of the longer hallway shots above.  Completely worth the effort in my mind.

Many castles in Europe are essentially large buildings with drywall or stone interiors.  Some or complete, others are not.  Here is a smaller palace that has been completed with stunning flare.  Next time you're in Lisbon, I would suggest taking a day and heading to Sintra to check it out!