The national palaces of Pena, Queluz and Sintra now have daily guided tours, at fixed times, with prior online purchase, an offer that can be extended to the rest of Sintra’s monuments, announced Parques de Sintra-Monte da Lua (PSML).
In a statement, the publicly-owned company said that “thinking of those who want to get to know in depth” the parks and monuments it manages, such as the national palaces of Pena, Queluz and Sintra, it has launched “a new offer of daily guided tours, at fixed times”.
“Visitors will thus be able to opt for a more complete visit experience, with the expert accompaniment of a guide prepared to reveal all the details about the history, architecture, collections and experiences of the spaces,” the company explained.
Tickets for the pre-defined times at each monument are already on sale on the PSML website, whereas previously guided tours of the heritage managed by the company “were only made by appointment via e-mail or telephone”, which now makes it possible to speed up “the entire planning process for visitors”, the note states.
In addition to the three palaces with fixed timetables, the company indicated that “it is also possible to buy guided tours, in Portuguese and English, for the park and Palace of Monserrate, the Chalet of the Countess d’Edla, the Moorish Castle, the D. Maria I Pavilion (the wing of the National Palace of Queluz that was the residence of heads of state visiting Portugal) and the Capuchos Convent, the only place where the offer is only available on Saturdays”.
The guided tour generally adds five euros to the price of entry to the monuments and, in the case of the National Palace of Pena, the amount “reflects the inclusion of special services, such as a guide from the main gate of the Park of Pena and ‘fast track’ access to the palace, an exclusive entrance without queues,” the company explained.
Sintra residents were already able to visit these parks and monuments for free on Sundays, but since January 2, the measure has been extended to all residents of the national territory and is also available on public holidays.
Although the company has updated its rates, visitors who buy tickets online at least three days in advance will receive a 15% discount, and the Pena National Palace will continue to use the date and time reservation system, with a reduction of around 15% in daily visitors.
PSML is an exclusively publicly-owned company, whose shareholders are the Directorate-General for Treasury and Finance (representing the State), the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, Turismo de Portugal and Sintra Town Council.