Exhibition of Camellias at the Park of Pena

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Site

Stables - Park of Pena

Dates

22/02/2025 - 1.00 pm > 5.00 pm

23/02/2025 - 10.00 am > 5.00 pm

Access to the exhibition

Free for ticket holders to the park

Side activities

Require advanced purchase of ticket (1€/person)

Blooming camellias, which brighten up Sintra's gardens and estates every year from October to April, have become a symbol of the Sintra winter and the reason for various dances and parties. To help publicise this botanical heritage and bring it closer to a wider public, Parques de Sintra organises an annual exhibition of the most beautiful camellia collections in Sintra, to which it invites some of the region's main estates and gardens to participate.

 

On 22 and 23 February, the Parques de Sintra Camellia Exhibition will be held in the Stables of the Park of Pena, where the Camellia Garden, distinguished by the International Camellia Society as a Garden of Excellence since 2014, houses a collection started by King Ferdinand II in the 19th century.

 

In Sintra, there are around 200 estates, many of which include remarkable collections of camellias. In the year that marks the 30th anniversary of the classification of Sintra's Cultural Landscape by UNESCO, on Saturdays 1, 8, 15 and 22 February we invite the public to visit the camellia collections of Villa Sassetti and the Park of Pena, managed by Parques de Sintra, and two private estates, which are opening their doors for the first time: Quinta do Relógio and Quinta da Cabeça. This initiative is being organised in collaboration with the Association of Estate Owners in the Sintra Hills and the Portuguese Camellia Association.

Side activities

QUINTA DO RELÓGIO (private estate, new visit)

  • Date and time: 01/02/2025, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
  • Meeting point: Largo da Quinta do Relógio, next to the gate of the main house (opposite the exit gate of Quinta da Regaleira). We recommend arriving to the Quinta by public transport.
  • About the Estate: Quinta do Relógio owes its name to a clock tower which no longer stands. Since the 19th century, the site has been marked by the presence of a neo-Moorish pavilion designed by architect Tomás da Fonseca, featuring a text in Arabic: “God is the only victor”. Around the house, in the last decades of the 19th century, a private garden was developed where, around a large lake, rare species such as magnolias, araucarias, sequoias and tree ferns were planted, among dozens of camellias and fuchsias. The gardens are in the final stages of restoration.

 

VILLA SASSETTI

  • Date and time: 08/02/2025, from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
  • Meeting point: Rua Vitor Carlos Sassetti, next to the estate gate. We recommend arriving to the estate by public transport.
  • About the Estate: On the land acquired in 1885 by Vitor Carlos Sassetti, Villa Sassetti encloses an access route to the Moorish Castle along which one of Sintra's most interesting romantic gardens develops. In this scenic garden built under the guidance of Luigi Manini, camellias are also protagonists. Visitors can enjoy a collection of cultivars of Italian origin, as is the architecture of the house with its circular tower in the Lombard Romanesque style, in terracotta colours.

 

QUINTA DA CABEÇA (private estate, new visit)

  • Date and time: 15/02/2025, from 11:00 to 12:30
  • Meeting point: Largo da Quinta do Relógio, next to the gate of the main house (opposite the exit gate of Quinta da Regaleira). We recommend arriving to the Quinta by public transport.
  • About the Estate: While Quinta da Cabeça was acquired by Francisco António de Castro on 23 July 1835, the estate had been agriculturally productive since at least 1614. The oldest buildings on the estate are medieval farm buildings, with the main house and its adjoining buildings located next to the estate's main gate. The estate's gardens are laid out in terraces, suggesting successive occupation of the old agricultural plots by the landscaped areas, punctuated by camellias.

 

PARK OF PENA - Visit to the exhibition and the Camellia Garden

  • Date and time: 22/02/2025, from 15:30 to 17:00
  • Meeting point: Mouco hunting grounds car park. We recommend arriving 30 minutes in advance.
  • About the Camellia Garden of the Park of Pena: The Park and Palace of Pena are the result of the creative genius of King Ferdinand II and the ultimate expression of 19th century romanticism in Portugal. The park consists of an arboretum with more than 500 species of trees from all over the world, punctuated by lush gardens. In February, the camellias in bloom are the star attractions. The visit begins by appreciating the flowers on display in the Park of Pena Stables, from where we head to the Camellia Garden.
  • Accessibility: limited due to steep slopes and uneven pavement.

 

PARK OF PENA - Guided tour for families with children and origami workshop

  • Date and time: 23/02/2025, from 10:30 to 12:00
  • Meeting point: Mouco hunting grounds car park. We recommend arriving 30 minutes in advance.
  • About this visit: Families with children are welcome to this visit to the Camellia Garden in the Park of Pena specially designed for youngsters. We'll get to know these flowers that originated in the East and which have long dotted the park's gardens with bright colours and delicate shapes during the winter. We'll end with a creative workshop where everyone can make Origami flowers.
  • Accessibility: limited due to steep slopes and uneven pavement.

Access to the exhibition

  • Free for ticket holders to the Park of Pena or to the Park and Palace of Pena.

Side activities - buy tickets

Side activities in the Park of Pena on 22 and 23 February - access and parking

  • Tickets for the side activities taking place in the Park of Pena on 22 and 23 February include entry to the park, access to the exhibition and participation in the tour.
  • Ticket holders for these side activities also have access to the Mouco hunting grounds car park (limited to existing space).
  • This car park is located 600 metres from the gate of the Chalet of the Countess of Edla.
  • On the days of the exhibition, the journey between the Mouco hunting grounds and the Stables, where the exhibition is being held, will be covered by a one-off transfer service.

Learn more

H6A2888©PSML Jose Marques Silva (1)

Learn more

The Camellia collection in the Park of Pena

Garden of Camellias