São Bento Palace

São Bento Palace – Assembly of the Republic

São Bento Palace, seat of the Assembly of the Republic, has its origins in the Monastery of São Bento da Saúde, which the Benedictine Order began building in 1598 to a design by the royal architect Baltasar Álvares, later continued by the monks Pedro Quaresma and João Turriano. Inhabited from 1615, the plain-style building was laid out on a square plan with four cloisters that was never completed. In 1833, by decree of King Pedro IV, the monastery was assigned to Parliament and renamed Palácio das Cortes; the first chambers, adapted by the architect Possidónio da Silva, opened with the Cortes in August 1834. After the fire of 1895, Miguel Ventura Terra's neoclassical design gave the complex its present monumentality, with a new Session Chamber and the Hall of Lost Steps; from the 1920s Adolfo Marques da Silva directed the works, and the Grand Staircase, the Library and the Noble Hall were added in the 1930s and 1940s. The free guided tours, lasting about an hour and a half, cover the Session Chamber and the Senate Chamber, but are only for organised groups of 10 to 30 people who book in advance, on Monday mornings and afternoons and Friday afternoons, except in August; there are also virtual tours on Wednesdays.

Located at: Assembleia da República
Address: Praça da Constituição de 1976, 1249-068 Lisboa
Opening hours: guided tours only, for pre-booked groups (10-30 people): Monday morning and afternoon and Friday afternoon (not in August)
Phone: +351 213 910 843
Coordinates: 38.7127651, -9.153777
Buses: 706, 727, 773, 22B, 67B, 713, 19B
Tram: 28E
Metro: Rato (Yellow)
Train: Cascais Line, Santos Station
Opened: 1598 (428 years)