A Neoclassical palace garden, now a hotel
The Jardins de Seteais are the garden grounds of Seteais Palace, a pink Neoclassical building near Sintra's old centre, laid out from 1750 and later enlarged around 1802 by the 5th Marquis of Marialva. Both palace and gardens hold protected heritage status, and the palace now operates as a luxury hotel open to walkers as well as guests.
A pink Neoclassical palace stands beside its protected gardens
The Jardins de Seteais are the garden grounds of Seteais Palace, just outside Sintra's old center. The palace itself stands about 400 feet away, a pink Neoclassical building that now runs as a luxury hotel. Both the gardens and the palace are protected as Immovable Cultural Heritage of Public Interest, a status Portugal gives to places judged important enough to preserve by law. The gardens date from 1750, laid out around the same time as the palace they surround. About 1.3 miles away, Quinta da Regaleira is a palace estate going back to 1697, part of this stretch of Sintra's hillside, known for its grand country estates built for wealthy families and foreign merchants.
Seven sighs gave this hillside its name
The gardens took their name from a story about seven sighs. Local tradition says a woman once sighed seven times watching a ship carry her lover away, and "seteais" stuck as the name for this hillside.
Sintra's wealthy families kept the gardens through later ownership
The estate passed through later owners as Sintra grew into a retreat for Lisbon's wealthy families. The gardens kept their terraces and wide lawns through these changes, framed by views toward the hills and, on clear days, the Atlantic coast.
A marquis doubled the palace and extended its gardens
Soon after that visit, Diogo José de Menezes, the 5th Marquis of Marialva, bought the palace and doubled its size. Diogo José de Menezes added a matching wing and a grand courtyard arch between the two halves, the arch still standing today. The gardens were extended and formalized around this larger building, giving them much of the layout still visible at this edge of the grounds.
The palace became a hotel open to walkers
The palace became a hotel in the 20th century, and the gardens opened as its grounds, open to walkers as well as guests. The Jardins de Seteais are now a quiet stretch of clipped lawns and old trees beside a working hotel, with Quinta da Regaleira's turrets and tunnels Quinta da Regaleira further along the hillside.
The gardens sit open and green beside the pink palace, a short walk from Sintra's old town.
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