National Palace of Mafra

The National Palace of Mafra is the most monumental building in the Lisbon region, a huge Baroque complex that combines a royal palace, a convent and a basilica behind a facade more than two hundred metres long. It was begun in the early eighteenth century by King John V, who vowed to build a monastery if his queen bore him an heir, and it was funded by the gold and diamonds flowing from Brazil. Thousands of workers took part in the construction, and the scale is staggering: hundreds of rooms, long corridors, a basilica clad in coloured marble and carillons of bells that rank among the largest in the world. Visitors usually see the royal apartments, the monastic infirmary and pharmacy, the basilica and the library, which holds tens of thousands of old volumes in a long barrel-vaulted hall with rococo shelving. A well-known story says that the library is home to bats that come out at night to protect the books from insects, and whether or not you see any, the tale adds to the place. Mafra is a World Heritage Site and is quieter than Sintra on most days, making it a satisfying contrast.

Mafra is not in Sintra itself but about a half hour's drive to the north-west, so the practical question is how to get there. Buses connect Mafra with Lisbon and with nearby towns, and many private tours and small-group excursions pair Mafra with Queluz and the coastal town of Ericeira. If you have a car, Mafra fits neatly into a day that also includes the Sintra coast, but if you rely on public transport, check the timetable carefully and allow extra time for the return.

The palace commonly has a weekly closing day, so confirm opening hours and the current ticket options on the venue's site before you travel.

The visit is long, so plan for two to three hours and wear comfortable shoes. Start with the royal apartments, where the sequence of halls, bedrooms and hunting rooms shows how the court lived, then continue to the monastic parts, including the hospital wards, the pharmacy and the kitchens, which are more austere. The basilica is a highlight, with six organs, sculpture from the Italian school and polished marble in many colours, and in the library the sense of scale is hard to forget.

The palace is cold in winter and bright with echoing stone in summer, so bring a layer. Audio guides, where available, help explain the vast layout, and there is usually a cafe nearby for a break afterwards.

Mafra rewards visitors who like history and architecture and who do not mind a quieter, more formal experience than the Sintra hills. It is a good rainy-day option, since so much of the visit is indoors, and a good alternative if Pena is sold out. Combine it with Queluz for a palaces day, or with the beach town of Ericeira if you want to finish by the sea.

Families with older children often enjoy the scale and the stories, from the royal bedrooms to the library bats, while younger children may tire quickly on the long corridors. Plan lunch in the town rather than at the palace, and keep some time in hand, because the complex is much larger than it looks from the outside.