A millionaire's fantasy palace and garden on the edge of Sintra, finished in 1910.
Spiral down the mossy Initiation Well, follow dark tunnels out to a hidden grotto, then climb towers above the forest.
Entry in or outWhether the Regaleira ticket is in the price
Minutes insideTime at Regaleira, not just trip length
Official price alongsideEUR 20 at the gate shop, 2026
Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before, on every tour here
Tours
Choose your Quinta da Regaleira tour
In the centre, the Lisbon day trip with the most reviews that really goes in. Either side, a half day for
people already in Sintra and the one tour that puts both palace tickets in the price. Every card opens a full tour page.
Take the train out, meet the guide near Portela de Sintra station, then Pena's terraces, the village and 90 minutes at Regaleira. Entry fees are extra, in cash.
What's included
Small group, one language per departure
Guided walk at Pena's terraces and gardens
Guided visit at Quinta da Regaleira (90 minutes)
Fees in cash: EUR 12 Pena terraces, EUR 20 Regaleira
Ninety minutes inside Quinta da Regaleira, then Pena's terraces, Cabo da Roca and Cascais in one long day. The guide books your Regaleira slot and you pay the entry in cash.
What's included
Pickup at central Lisbon hotels, vans of 8
Pena Palace exterior ticket included
Regaleira slot booked for you, EUR 21.50 cash on the day
Guide in the gardens, not inside the palace or well
The rare listing where the price covers both tickets: a guided visit inside Pena Palace and an hour at Regaleira on your own. Groups of eight leave from Praça da Figueira.
Three questions sort it out. Is the Regaleira ticket in the price? How long do you get inside? And do you
want a whole day with Cabo da Roca and Cascais, or just the palaces?
The official 2026 entry is EUR 20 for adults and EUR 15 for ages 6 to 17 and over 65; under-6s go free.
Tours that collect it in cash on the day want euros, so bring notes.
Before you book
Regaleira is in the title. Is it in the price?
Almost every Sintra tour sold in Lisbon puts "Regaleira" in its name. Read the small print and the picture changes.
Most of them reserve a time slot for you and ask for about EUR 20 in cash when you get there. One sells the visit only
as an upgrade. One asks you to buy your own ticket for the 11:30 slot. And some famous "Sintra" day trips only drive
past the gate on the way to Cabo da Roca.
The other number to check is time inside. The tours here give you between one hour and an hour and forty
minutes at the estate, against the two or three hours you would spend alone. And no tour guide can lead you through
the palace or down the Initiation Well: the estate's own rules keep outside guides in the gardens.
No suitcases, trolleys or large backpacks, no snacks, no pets except assistance dogs.
No tripods or drones, and no flash inside the palace and chapel.
The palace and the Initiation Well are one way, and the well only goes down.
In 2026 the Waterfall Path is closed and the Aquarium is shut for restoration.
Official ticketEUR 20Adults, 2026. Youths and seniors EUR 15, under-6s free.
Time inside60 to 100 minOn the tours here. Alone, most people stay two to three hours.
The wellAbout 27 mNine landings down a spiral stair, one way, to the tunnels.
TrainAbout 40 minRossio to Sintra, then a 20 to 25 minute walk.
Grace period1 hourAfter the time on your ticket. Later than that, no entry.
Refund24 hoursFree cancellation on every tour here; the gate ticket is non-refundable.
Where it is
Finding Regaleira
On the edge of the village
Quinta da Regaleira, Rua Barbosa du Bocage, 2710-567 Sintra
Regaleira is not up on the hill with Pena. It sits just west of the historic centre, along the road to Seteais and
Monserrate, behind a high wall with the palace tower peeking over it. Tour vans drop you near the centre and you walk
the last few minutes; the estate has no parking of its own.
From Sintra station: 20 to 25 minutes on foot
From the National Palace in the village: 10 to 15 minutes
From Pena Palace: bus 434 down to the village, then walk
4.9★★★★★ 4,054 reviews · Sintra, Regaleira, Cabo da Roca & Cascais day Viator rating
★★★★★
Pedro was amazing, very informative, knowledgeable & a lot of humor. [...] Beautiful palaces! Quinta Regaleira is a very special place & the gardens.
★★★★★
Andrea is a very knowledgeable and personable tour guide. The palaces, the town and the initiation well were all amazing places to visit.
★★★★★
Had a great day trip from Lisbon, Sintra was beautiful and felt super magical. Regaleira was really cool to explore and had amazing views.
★★★★★
A wonderful and very well-organized day trip to Sintra, Cabo da Roca, Quinta da Regaleira, and Sintra National Palace. The guide was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the experience both interesting and enjoyable.
★★★★★
Was very inclusive as a solo traveler. Priced a little higher than similar excursions, I felt that it was well worth the money spent as we arrived at locations well ahead of the lines.
★★★★★
A lovely tour of beautiful Sintra with Filipa. A wealth of history and information of both castles and plenty of time to explore the town on our own as well.
★★★★★
Francisco picked us up at our hotel and drove us to Sintra where we spent the day touring Quinta da Regaleira, Pena Palace and Cabo da Roca. Francisco's knowlege was amazing and his customer service was just as good.
★★★★★
Fantastic day trip from Lisbon. Everything was well thought through from the pick up location, timing of the tour/ visiting the palaces and time provided for long lunch/ ability to see Cascais.
★★★★★
Fantastic self guided way to see the sights of Sintra and the Coastline whilst getting a working and connecting to the scenery. Well thought out routes through a variety of landscape. Highly recommended.
Do it your way
Ride to Regaleira by e-bike
No van, no bus queue, no fixed time inside. You hold your own Regaleira slot and ride on to the coast afterwards.
Skip the van and the bus queue: rent an e-bike in the village, ride to Regaleira at your own slot time, then roll out to Cabo da Roca with the route on an app. The hills are steep even with a motor, and riders must be 160 cm or taller.
Self-guided appHelmet and lockersCabo da Roca loop
Regaleira looks like a film set because it nearly is one. Here is what you are walking into, and how to see
it without being rushed.
A millionaire and a stage designer
In 1892 António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, a collector with a fortune made in Brazil and the nickname "Monteiro
of the Millions", bought a hillside estate from the Viscountess of Regaleira. He hired Luigi Manini, an Italian stage
designer who painted sets for Lisbon's São Carlos opera house, and between 1904 and 1910 the two of them turned four hectares of Sintra woodland into a stage. The palace
wears Manueline lace in stone: ropes, armillary spheres, gargoyles, a slim octagonal tower. The woods above it hide
wells, grottoes and benches loaded with symbols that people have linked to alchemy, the Templars and Freemasonry.
Nobody left a manual, which is half the fun.
The estate passed through private hands, sat closed for a decade under a Japanese company, and was bought by Sintra's
council in 1997. It opened to visitors in June 1998 and is part of the UNESCO Cultural Landscape of Sintra.
The tunnels link the bottom of the Initiation Well with the grottoes. In 2026 the Waterfall Lake itself is off limits.
The Initiation Well, honestly
The well is the photo everyone wants: a spiral stair of nine landings, about 27 metres deep, lined with moss. It was
never for water. You enter at the top, walk down, and leave through the tunnels at the bottom. The rules make it one way,
downwards only, which is why a line forms at the top between late morning and mid-afternoon. At the bottom the tunnel
to the Eastern Grotto is one way too, and in 2026 walking at the Waterfall Lake is not allowed. Going straight to the well when your slot opens, or late in
the day, beats the queue.
The honest small print: no tour guide can take you inside the palace or down the well. The estate
allows outside guides only in the gardens. A "guided visit" is the history on the paths, and then you walk the one-way
route alone. If you want the stories inside, rent the EUR 5 audio guide at the ticket office.
Tour or train?
Regaleira is the easiest Sintra sight to reach on your own: a 40-minute train from Rossio and a 20-minute walk.
Book your slot on the official shop, and it costs you about EUR 25 with the fare, with no clock running. A tour earns
its price when you want Pena, Cabo da Roca and Cascais in the same day without fighting the 434 bus queue. Then check
two things on the listing: whether the Regaleira ticket is in the price, and how many minutes the itinerary gives the
estate. Our tour-by-tour check does that for you.
Only the palace's main floor is open; the upper floors open for temporary exhibitions.
Timing it
The estate opens at 09:00 from April to September and at 10:00 the rest of the year, and the last entry is 17:30.
Day-trip vans arrive mid-morning and leave mid-afternoon, so the first and last hours are calmer. Spring brings the
camellias and full green; summer brings crowds and slots that sell out days ahead. Winter is quiet, cool and often
misty, which suits the place. Whatever the season, give it two hours if you can, and don't stack Pena and Regaleira
slots less than an hour apart.
Sintra village: the train station is a short walk below, Regaleira 10 to 15 minutes further on.
Straight answers to what people ask most about visiting Quinta da Regaleira.
How much is a Quinta da Regaleira ticket in 2026?
Since January 2026 an adult ticket (18 to 64) costs EUR 20. Youths aged 6 to 17 and seniors over 65 pay EUR 15, under-6s go free, and a family ticket for two adults and two youths is EUR 60. The only official online seller is regaleira.byblueticket.pt. Details in the ticket guide.
Do Sintra day trips include entry to Quinta da Regaleira?
Mostly not. Of the 11 tours on this site, only two put the Regaleira ticket in the price. Most book a slot and collect about EUR 20 in cash on the day, some sell it as an upgrade, and one tells you to buy it yourself. Some popular Sintra trips only drive past. Read which tours really go in.
How long do you need at Quinta da Regaleira?
Plan two to three hours on your own: the estate covers about 4 hectares of steep paths, tunnels and towers. Tours give you 60 to 100 minutes, which covers the well, the palace and the chapel at a brisk pace. More in how long to spend.
Is there a queue for the Initiation Well?
Often, from late morning to mid-afternoon. The well runs one way only, downwards, so everyone enters at the top and the line waits on the stairs. Go straight there at your slot time, or leave it until the last hour. See the Initiation Well guide.
Can you visit Pena Palace and Regaleira in one day?
Yes, and most tours do. Regaleira sits 10 to 15 minutes on foot from the village centre, Pena is up the hill on bus 434. Book timed tickets for both and leave at least an hour between slots. Our Pena or Regaleira guide compares them.
How do I get from Lisbon to Quinta da Regaleira?
Take the train from Rossio to Sintra: about 40 minutes, every 20 to 30 minutes, roughly EUR 2.50 each way on a navegante card. From Sintra station it is a 20 to 25 minute walk through the village, or bus 435. All the options are in Lisbon to Regaleira.
Do I need to book Regaleira tickets in advance?
In spring, summer and on weekends, yes. Tickets are for a date and time, slots sell out, and you get one hour of grace after your slot. The official ticket is non-refundable, but you can reschedule up to 48 hours before on regaleira.byblueticket.pt.
Can a tour guide take you inside the palace and the Initiation Well?
No. The estate's visiting rules do not allow guided tours by external guides inside the palace or the Initiation Well. A tour's "guided visit" happens in the gardens; inside, you walk the one-way route on your own. An EUR 5 audio guide from the ticket office covers 30 points.
What are the opening hours of Quinta da Regaleira?
April to September 09:00 to 19:30, and 10:00 to 18:30 from October to March. Last entrance is 17:30 all year, and the palace and chapel close 30 minutes before the gardens. It is closed on 1 January and 24, 25 and 31 December.
Is Quinta da Regaleira suitable for children and wheelchairs?
Children love the well and tunnels, and under-6s go free, but under-15s must stay with an adult. It is not step-free: steep paths, stairs and uneven tunnels make it hard with a wheelchair or pushchair, and the listings mark it not wheelchair accessible.
Can I cancel a Regaleira tour?
Every tour on this site cancels free up to 24 hours before. The official Regaleira ticket does not: it can only be rescheduled up to 48 hours ahead. If a tour collects the fee in cash on the day, you have nothing to refund.
Ready to book
Pick your day, then pick your slot.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every tour, and the Regaleira fee spelled out on each one.
Already in Sintra
★ 5.04 hoursFree cancellation
