On Day 2 when Victor Emmanuel picked us up at the hotel our first stop of the day was Queluz. This palace is in the outskirts of Lisbon. It is amazing to see Victor Emmanuel in action. He went right up to the head of the line and got tickets for us. Everyone there knew him then he sent us off on our way to tour the palace while he went out doors to visit with the other drivers. This really is how the other half lives.
If you have ever been to Versailles you will be struck by the resemblance. The Palace is built in the Rocco style and if not quite as large as Versailles is impressive enough. This isn’t just a historical monument, it is still used top host state dinners and event and also summer concerts.
You can tour through the rooms in about an hour. The good news is that there are information cards in most of the rooms so you know what you are seeing. The throne room as one would expect is particularly impressive. Even though Portugal is a small country, through marriage the royal family here was related to many of the royal houses of Europe.
Queluz is a lovely royal palace and you walk from room to room, bedrooms, anti chambers, parlors and salons. I particularly remember that the lights were amazing. There were several chandeliers that were made from Venetian glass.
We visited the music room with a lovely piano. The personal chapel of the royal family which was quite exquisite and had a balcony where the family could sit, decorated with paintings and a gorgeous domed ceiling painted pink and green with lots of gold and even more marble.
Room after room of massive mirrors decorating the walls and beautiful furniture. It is all very, very impressive. You really feel as if the family still lives here and will be coming back any minute. The bed rooms of the princesses were delicate and you k new that they had to have been designed for young woman. There were a lot of princesses in this family. The Sale de café had the most amazing gold porcelain coffee set in a glass case. The Dining Room also had wonderful porcelain; there was a hot chocolate set to die for. In one of the bedrooms there was a particularly lovely wooden cradle with pinkish red bedding. These are just some of the many rooms your will visit, I have the pictures to remind me, photography is allowed without flash.
The visit isn’t finished when you come to the last room however. The grounds are quite amazing. There are formal gardens with wonderful fountains and statuary. Allow enough time to do them justice. You finish up, can you believe this, in the gift shop, no surprise there. No matter what country you’re in the gift shop is always the final stop.
We headed out into the sunshine to meet up with Victor Emmanuel and head to our next stop which was Sintra and the Pena Palace.