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The palace was designed by architects Thomas James Knowles (father and son) and built in 1858, by order of Sir Francis Cook, Viscount of Monserrate. The construction of the gardens was able to exploit the micro-climatic particularities of the Serra, thus obtaining a magnificent park where, even today, more than 3,000 exotic species can be observed.

The palace was the summer residence of the Cook family, and built on the ruins of the neo-Gothic mansion built by the English merchant Gerard de Visme, responsible for the first palace in Monserrate. William Beckford leased the property in 1793, carrying out work on the palace and beginning to create a landscaped garden.

It is a suggestive example of Portuguese Romanticism, alongside other palaces in the region, such as the Pena Palace. It is currently classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1978.

In 1809, the Palace of Monserrate was visited by Lord Byron, an Anglo-Scottish poet and important figure in the Romantic Movement. The sublime appearance of the property was a source of inspiration for the poet, in his work Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, making a visit to this place a must for foreign travelers, but especially for Englishmen, who described it in numerous travel reports and illustrated it in engravings.

The Palace of Monserrate also has a brief appearance in the TV mini-series, 'Gulliver's Travels', from 1996.

Among trees from the four corners of the world, waterfalls and lakes, walking in the Monserrate Park is to feel involved by a romantic mystique.

History

Four kilometers from the historic center of Sintra are the Palace and the Park of Monserrate, unique testimonies of the eclecticism of the 19th century, where the exotic and plant motifs of the interior decoration harmoniously extend outside. The lawn in front of the palace allows for a well-deserved rest, while discovering one of the richest Portuguese botanical gardens and one of the most beautiful landscape creations of Romanticism in Portugal.

Quinta de Monserrate was leased by Gerard de Visme (1789), a wealthy English merchant, who built a house there in the neo-Gothic style. William Beckford sublet Monserrate in 1793-1794, but by 1809, when Lord Byron visited the property, the house was already in ruins.

One of the famous visitors was Francis Cook, another very wealthy English industrialist later bestowed by King D. Luís with the title of Viscount of Monserrate, who subrogated the property in 1856. The effective acquisition of the property takes place in 1863, starting, with architect James Knowles, transforming what was left of the De Visme house. The Palace of Monserrate, which displays, in its decoration, medieval and orientalizing influences, is, with the Palace of Pena, one of the most important examples of romantic architecture in Portugal.

The surrounding gardens received species from all over the world and were organized by geographic areas, of which Mexico stands out, reflecting the different origins of the plants and composing scenarios along paths, among ruins, nooks, lakes and waterfalls.

Thanks to the intervention of the painter William Stockdale and the master gardener Francis Burt and, above all, to the romantic spirit of Francis Cook, today we can find the Park of Monserrate as it is. In the different gardens there are contrasting scenarios where – along winding paths and in contact with spontaneous species of the region (such as arboreal-sized strawberry trees, holly and imposing cork oaks) – araucaria araucarias and palm trees, tree ferns from Australia and New Zealand and agaves and yuccas that recreate a Mexican scene. In this tour of the five continents through botany, the camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons and bamboos also stand out, evoking a garden in Japan.

The State acquired the property and palace in 1949.

The Park and Palace of Monserrate were classified as a Property of Public Interest in 1975, forming part of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1995.

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