Sintra, near Lisbon, has the Pena Palace in woods full of rare plants, and in the village the Sintra Palace, with its vast kitchen chimneys and superb painted ceilings. Nearer Lisbon is the Queluz Palace, a kind of miniature Versailles surrounded by formal gardens. In Lisbon the Ajuda Palace is now open to public. As Lisbon was struck by a tremendous earthquake in 1755 this destroyed many of the earlier buildings and monuments.
Now traces of early Lisbon can be seen in the Alfama with the Casa dos Bicos, the house of pointed stones and the 14th century Carmo church which has an archeological museum around it. Above the city is the Castelo Sao Jorge with pleasant tree-lined walks and views over the city and river. At Blem there is the Tower that once guarded the river entrance and the Monument of the Discoveries, a modern monument commemorating the voyages of Henry the Navigator.
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