Palácio de Monserrate & Cabo da Roca

Last stop at the end of continental Europe

Palácio de Monserrate ©EMIGUS

Palácio de Monserrate

The last palace we visited in Sintra was Palácio de Monserrate. The history of this palace dates back to the times of the Moors, but it takes its name from a small chapel dedicated to Mare de Déu de Montserrat (Our Lady of Montserrat) in Catalonia, Spain. Its gardens were designed in the late 18th century by a wealthy young Englishman named William Beckford. After visiting the palace several times the English poet Lord Byron immortalized them in his Childe Harold’s pilgrimage (1812). In 1856 another Englishman, Sir Francis Cook, bought the abandoned estate and let the British architect James T. Knowles build a fabulous in Moorish-style palace as a family summer residence. He also transformed the gardens with an enormous lawn and sub-tropical trees from all over the world.

Indian Arch. This ornamental arch was acquired in India By Sir Francis Cook

Entrance of Palácio de Monserrate

The renovated library

And the old one…

Ornamented ceiling

The view…. PEACE!

Monserrate Gardens Nature Trail An area of 33 hectares which contains an enormous botanical collection of species from all over the world, ruins, lakes and waterfalls. ©MLVB

Cabo da Roca

The lighthouse on top of this impressive 140 meter high cliff marks the westernmost extent of European mainland. With its amazing view over the Atlantic, the famous 16th-century Portuguese poet Luís de Camões described Cabo da Roca as the place:

Onde a terra se acaba e o mar começa (where the land ends and the sea begins)

Cabo da Roca lighthouse ©MLVB

The monument of Cabo da Roca ©MLVB

Sunset across the Atlantic, hello peacefull view! ©MLVB