Mafra National Palace
Palácio Nacional de Mafra
A UNESCO-listed Baroque palace-monastery whose facade stretches 220 metres, with a library of 36,000 volumes and six organs.
Mafra National Palace was commissioned by King John V in 1717 and built with Brazilian gold. It combines a royal palace, a Franciscan monastery and a cathedral, and was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2019. The must-see is the Rococo great library, which holds about 36,000 antique volumes, where bats still keep insects in check. Inside the cathedral, six organs can play at the same time, and the two bell towers hold nearly 100 bronze bells in total. The palace is usually open from 09:30 to 17:30, closed on Tuesdays, with admission about €8. To the north, the Tapada royal hunting park can be explored on foot or for deer watching. Getting there: take the Mafrense bus from Campo Grande in Lisbon, about 1 hour. By car it takes 35 minutes, and it can be combined with Sintra or the Ericeira coast.
Opening hours
09:30–17:30; closed Tuesdays
Nearby sights
- Estádio da Luz
- Águas Livres Aqueduct
- Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
- Jerónimos Monastery
- Pastéis de Belém
- Belém Tower
- National Coach Museum
- Monument of the Discoveries