We're very interested in hiking the park paths around Pena Palace — less so fighting the crowds in the palace itself. That said, exactly how much of the palace can be accessed with the Park-only ticket? I've read widely varying accounts, from no access at all to allowing access to stroll the palace's exterior terraces though not enter it or reach the upper Queen's Terrace.
Posted by
MD
611 posts
I could be mistaken, but I think what happened was that the park only tickets used to include access to the terraces of the palace, then that changed so the tickets did not include the terraces, but they must have quickly realized that wasn't a good idea, so they changed it back. When I was there in January (after the supposed change), I also mostly wanted to just explore the gardens, so I only got the park ticket, but I was able to access the terraces with my ticket. I did see some people walking on what I'm guessing was another terrace maybe one floor up that I could not get to, but I didn't feel like I missed anything of significance and I'm so glad I didn't have to wait in line to be led through the palace.
If you like parks/gardens, going out to Monserrate Palace is worth the drive (I took Bolt). I had the palace to myself and wandered the gardens for quite a while. The gardens of Quinta de Regaleira were, in my opinion, the most interesting and also worth a visit.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
OP
MD
5 posts
Thanks for this excellent intel! Planning on Quinta de Regaleira as well.