Sintra · Palace and gardens · Roof works until early 2027
Monserrate Palace: tickets, hours and how to get there
A Gothic, Indian and Moorish palace in a 50-hectare park, a few kilometres west of Sintra. Same price on the official site and on Tiqets, and what to expect while the roof is under repair.
Today
Opening hours for every month are on the Opening hours page.
Checked against the official website on October 22, 2026 · Official source
In short
- One ticket covers the palace and the park: 12 € for an adult on the official site and on Tiqets (youths 6–17 and seniors 65+ pay 10 €, a family of 2+2 pays 33 €, under 6 free). Prices read on 22 October 2026.
- The palace is open 9:30–18:00 with last entry at 17:00 (the official page also lists 17:30: we use the earlier time). The park is open 9:00–19:00, last entry 18:00. The ticket office closes from 12:00 to 13:00, and there are automatic ticket machines.
- Roof works on the palace continue until the end of the first quarter of 2027. The palace stays open, with scaffolding and a temporary roof cover, so do not expect clean views of the building.
- Getting there: bus 435 from Sintra, or bus 1253 from the station; it is 3.5 km from the old town. Dogs are allowed in the park.
The palace
The palace was designed by James Knowles Jr. for Francis Cook. An octagonal atrium with a central fountain and a dome opens onto the gallery, the dining room, the library, the drawing room, the billiard room, the music room and the kitchen. The style blends Gothic, Indian and Moorish influences.
The state bought the estate in 1949, the palace reopened in 2010 and the restoration of the interiors was done in view of visitors until 2016. The photos on this page may not show the scaffolding that covers the roof today.
The park
UNESCO gives the park as 50 hectares. Its garden rooms include Beckford’s Waterfall, the Indian Arch (the Arch of Vathek), the Valley of the Ferns, the Mexican Garden with agaves and palms, the Japanese Garden with camellias, azaleas and bamboo, the big lawn in front of the palace, a nature interpretation centre, and ruins with a chapel.
From a hermitage to the Cook family
In 1540 Friar Gaspar Preto built a hermitage dedicated to Our Lady of Montserrat. In 1789 the English merchant Gerard de Visme built a neo-Gothic castle here, and in 1794 the writer William Beckford rented the estate; Lord Byron remembers it in Childe Harold. In 1863 Francis Cook, a British merchant and collector, bought the estate and had the present palace built, with the gardeners James Burt and William Stockdale and the botanist William Neville.
