• Scaffolding on the palace roof until early 2027, while restoration works cover part of the building
• Beckford's Waterfall and Vathek's Arch sit along the garden paths, good stops to aim for on the walk
• Ticket office shuts 12pm to 1pm, but the automatic ticket machines keep selling

Monserrate is a 19th-century palace built for the British collector Francis Cook, with carved stone arches and Moorish-style domes, set in a large botanical park on the hills outside Sintra.

The garden paths lead through a fern valley, a Japanese garden and plants gathered from around the world, past Beckford's Waterfall and Vathek's Arch. Inside, kids walk the long central gallery, then the music room, library and kitchen.