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Ajuda National Palace

After the earthquake of 1755, King Joseph I refused to live in stone buildings and ordered a wooden residence to be built on the heights of Ajuda. It burned down in November 1794 and work on the present neoclassical palace began in 1795 under the direction of Manuel Caetano de Sousa; José da Costa e Silva and Francisco Xavier Fabri later took part. Luís I and Queen Maria Pia made it the official royal residence from 1862 until the end of the monarchy in 1910, and it opened as a museum in 1968. It is the only palace in Lisbon open to visitors that preserves its 19th-century interiors just as they were. You can see the Throne Room, the Banqueting Hall and the Green Room, where Prince Carlos was born in 1863. The west wing, completed in 2022, houses the Royal Treasury Museum.

Things to do at Ajuda National Palace: 4 missions

• Find the Banqueting HallFind the formal dining room, the Sala da Ceia, and take in its decoration.
• Tour the Throne RoomEnter the Throne Room and notice how the decoration of the 19th-century royal residence has been preserved.
• Discover a jewel of the Royal TreasuryVisit the Royal Treasury Museum and choose one of the more than 1,000 pieces on display, among them the Portuguese crown jewels.
• Photograph the neoclassical façade from Largo da AjudaFrom Largo da Ajuda, frame the façade of the palace and its silhouette on the hill.

Near Ajuda National Palace

Source: Web oficial - Museus e Monumentos de Portugal