Partner Programme

Discover Sintra

Tuesday 22 May, 9.30- 15.30

Fecc is pleased to announce that for this year only the partner programme is offered at no cost, for partners of registered delegates.

Sintra and its mystical hills dotted with fairy-tale palaces and extravagant villas have bewitched visitors for centuries.  The Romans made it a place for moon worshiping and named it "Cynthia" after the goddess of the moon. They were followed by the Moors who also fell in love with the lush vegetation and built a hilltop castle, a palace, and several fountains around the town. Later it became the summer residence of the Portuguese royal family and attracted a number of wealthy aristocrats who built huge mansions and villas.

It is indeed an extraordinary place with a surreal mixture of history and fantasy, protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Its fairy-tale palaces, incredible vistas, and notable museum collections make it a “must see” for many visitors to Lisbon.

The highlights of the visit include:
Visit to the Sintra Pena Palace. Built in the 1840s, it is one of Europe's most fantastic palaces, often compared to Neuschwanstein and the other mock-medieval castles of Ludwig of Bavaria in Germany, although it was actually built more than two decades before those. It includes a drawbridge, a conglomeration of turrets, ramparts, and domes, and a gargoyle above a Neo-Manueline arch, all washed in an array of pastel shades. The extravagant interior is decorated in late Victorian and Edwardian furnishings, rich ornaments, paintings, and priceless porcelain preserved just as the royal family left them. Other highlights include the spacious ballroom, the marvellous "Arab Room", and an impressive 16th-century chapel altarpiece.  Surrounding the palace is the mystical Pena Park, filled with a variety of trees and exotic plants from the former colonies of the Portuguese empire, ponds, fountains, and black swans.

Itinerary

9:30 – 10:20 Transfer from the Tivoli Lisboa Hotel to Sintra

10:20 – 12:20 Guided visit to Pena Palace, followed by free time to explore the Palace and surrounding area

12:20 – 13:15 Transfer back down to Sintra town centre and free time

13:15 – 14:45 Lunch

14:45 – 15:30 Transfer from Sintra to the Tivoli Lisboa Hotel

Please reserve your place on the partner programme -upon delegate registration- before Tuesday 12 April.

The Partner Programme includes the excursion listed and the evening networking events. The programmes are subject to minimum numbers and it may be necessary for the organisers to alter the excursion programme as necessary.