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São Bento Palace

Seat of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, at the top of Rua de São Bento, in Lisbon. The building began in the late 16th century as the Benedictine monastery of São Bento da Saúde; after the suppression of the religious orders in 1834 it came to house the Cortes, and between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th the architect Ventura Terra transformed it into the present neoclassical palace, with its grand staircase, colonnade and pediment. MPs work inside and plenary sessions are held there. Parliament organises free guided tours of about 90 minutes, with prior registration via an online form, which take in the Session Hall and the Senate Hall. You can also follow sessions from the public gallery. There are no tours in August. Even without going in, the façade and the staircase justify the stop.

Things to do at São Bento Palace: 3 missions

• Book the free guided tourFill in the online form on parlamento.pt for an in-person tour on a Monday or Friday afternoon and see the Session Hall and the Senate Hall.
• Walk up Rua de São Bento to the palaceWalk up Rua de São Bento to the door of Parliament and notice how the palace dominates the hill.
• Photograph the staircase and porticoStand in front of the palace's neoclassical façade and frame the whole staircase and portico.

Near São Bento Palace

Source: Web oficial - Parlamento