Quinta dos Azulejos

Quinta dos Azulejos – Colégio Manuel Bernardes

The Quinta dos Azulejos, in Paço do Lumiar, is a former pleasure and farming estate on the outskirts of Lisbon, today part of the Colégio Manuel Bernardes. It was commissioned by António Colaço Torres, a Lisbon goldsmith and knight of the Order of Christ, and building began in 1745, lasting about ten years. In 1753 the royal family visited the estate for the first time, an episode recorded in a commemorative panel. The square-plan garden is small but densely covered in azulejos, mostly produced at the Real Fábrica de Faianças do Rato, in an early phase of the Rococo. The entrance is through an iron gate flanked by octagonal columns clad in tiles, with biblical scenes on the wall, and on the eastern axis a curved bench surrounds a small stone pond. The estate has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1962 and is regarded as part of the national heritage. Because it operates within a school, visits to the garden are by prior appointment with the school, which does not publish visiting hours.

Located at: Colégio Manuel Bernardes
Address: Rua Esquerda, 40-46, Paço do Lumiar, 1600-549 Lisboa
Opening hours: Visits by prior appointment with Colégio Manuel Bernardes; no published hours
Phone: +351 217 570 501
Coordinates: 38.77389, -9.17397
Buses: 703, 768, 778, 45B
Opened: 1745 (281 years)