Dear Leonor,
The fact that you are born and raised in Portugal and had never been to Quinta da Regaleira was just unacceptable to me.
I have been to Quinta da Regaleira four or five times already, once when I was at University. It was the perfect setting for a project we were working on.
It wasn’t this crowded then, but it’s magic remains.
When you walk in you will be able to find a palace and chapel surrounded by beautiful gardens, lakes, fountains, wells, sculptures, gazebos and caves – ok it’s an old park, but it’s pretty and I haven’t even gotten to the best part.
Despite all of this, what makes this park so fun to visit is the extensive and enigmatic set of tunnels. There are multiple entrances and they are all interconnected but no matter how you work around it, eventually you will end up at the bottom of a huge – and awesome – well.
My favorite spot: the Waterfall Lake, which is great on its own but it also has its back maze of caves and tunnels so you can bump into it from 3 different perspectives.
And because none of these entries can be truly finished without a tech complaint:
a drone over this place would have been amazing, I’m going back once I manage to get one.
It is beautiful and one of my favorite places. I hope you enjoy it as much as I always have.
Yours Truly,
Filipa
[re]discovering portugal 