Portugal
Monserrate Palace and Park, one of the most romantic sights in Portugal, a beautiful Victorian mansion rising out of vast botanical gardens.
Great meandering paths take you through the woods, rich in a variety of magnificent trees, past waterfalls, stepping stones and the chapel ruins coming out on to a vast hill of grass leading up to the palace.
A magnificent building recently restored, with a mix of Moorish and Italian decoration. There is a fantastic walk from here to the Capuchos Monastery, also known as Santa Cruz or the Cork Monastery, a quiet and tranquil place - a small monastery built in the rock. The tiny rooms lined with cork are a telling example of the humble and austere existance of the Franciscan friars who lived here.
Well worth a visit.
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