The park at Monserrate, point by point
The thirteen points
In the order the operator lists them. The right-hand column holds every measurement that exists for any of them, which is two.
| Point of interest | What is published about it |
|---|---|
| Mexican Garden | about 5,000 m² |
| Rose Garden | — |
| Lawn | — |
| Staircase on the Scented Path | — |
| Indian Arch | — |
| Nature Interpretation Centre | — |
| Farmyard of Monserrate | 850 metres east of the main entrance |
| Garden Entrance | — |
| Vathek’s Arch | — |
| Beckford’s Waterfall | — |
| Fern Valley | — |
| Japanese Garden | — |
| Chapel | — |
The two measurements, and the hole where a third should be
The Mexican Garden is about 5,000 m². That is the only area figure on this entire site. The Farmyard of Monserrate is 850 metres east of the main entrance. That is the only distance. Everything else about the size and shape of this park, on this site, is a word rather than a number.
That is deliberate and it costs me something. A hectare figure would sit very comfortably in the opening paragraph of a garden page and every reader would take it. I have seen several and they do not agree with each other; not one of them is on a page I could point you at. So it is not here, and neither is a walking time, and neither is a visitor count — nobody publishes one for Monserrate. How long you need is built out of the opening hours instead, which are published.
The names that come out of the history
Two of the thirteen carry names you will meet again on the history page. Beckford’s Waterfall takes its name from William Beckford, who subleased the estate in 1793–94 and began the landscaped gardens. The Chapel is the thread back to the oldest thing here: a chapel to the Virgin Mary stood on this ground from about 1093, and a chapel to Our Lady of Monserrate was built on the hilltop in 1540.
Vathek’s Arch I am going to leave unexplained. It is on the operator’s list under that name and I have no source that tells me where the name comes from. There is a story I could tell you and I am not going to tell it, because I would be reciting it rather than citing it.
Getting round it
The palace sits uphill from the main entrance, and the hop-on hop-off electric transport inside the park is temporarily unavailable. A separate transfer supplement — round trip, main entrance to palace and back, admission not included — is offered on the operator’s own ticket page. Both of those are true at the same time, and this site says both rather than the tidier one.
The park runs 9:00–19:00, half an hour ahead of the palace at the start and an hour past it at the end, so the outdoor half of the day is the one with room in it. Visiting has the full hours, the lunchtime ticket-office closure and the one dated early closing.
The park is the half of this place I would protect time for. The palace is finite — ten rooms, and you will meet them all — and the park is not, and it opens earlier and closes later. That is my own view rather than a fact, and I am labelling it as one.
What the ticket costs
Twelve euros, and it covers the palace as well as the park; there is no park-only ticket here. That figure is what Parques de Sintra charges at its own window and it is also what the one ticket listing on the platform charges — the same price, because it is the operator’s own ticket sold through the platform with a free app audio guide in four languages. The tickets page has the tariff.
Read next
- Inside the palace — the ten rooms, named.
- The history — de Visme, Beckford, Cook.
- Hours, the scaffolding and the hill.
- When to come.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to see in the park at Monserrate?
The operator lists thirteen points of interest: the Mexican Garden, the Rose Garden, the Lawn, the Staircase on the Scented Path, the Indian Arch, the Nature Interpretation Centre, the Farmyard of Monserrate, the Garden Entrance, Vathek’s Arch, Beckford’s Waterfall, the Fern Valley, the Japanese Garden and the Chapel.
How big is the park at Monserrate?
This site does not publish a figure, because it could not source one. Numbers circulate and they disagree with each other. The two measurements the operator does publish are the Mexican Garden at about 5,000 m² and the Farmyard at 850 metres east of the main entrance.
Is the park included in the palace ticket?
Yes. Every ticket at Monserrate covers the park and the palace together, at every age band. There is no park-only option.
Is there a Japanese garden at Monserrate?
Yes — the Japanese Garden is one of the thirteen points of interest on the operator’s own list, along with the Mexican Garden, the Rose Garden and the Fern Valley.