Quinta do Senhor da SerraQueluz e Belas, Sintra

About 15 km from the centre of Lisbon, in the heart of the town of Belas, stands the town's Royal Palace. It is part of the Quinta do Senhor da Serra. It was once known as Quinta dos Marqueses de Belas and has a wealth of centuries-old history and heritage.

The estate spanned eight centuries of Portuguese history and was the royal property of D. Pedro and D. João. D. Manuel was responsible for major remodelling works in the 16th century.

The Quinta and the Medieval Palace tell a very interesting story that has been discovered by the current owners. Over time, as they restored the Paço, they found Medieval and Manueline remains that allow them to appreciate a long period of evolution, including that of its well-documented gardens.

As an integral part of the estate, there is an equestrian centre, which made use of part of the old agricultural facilities and has 20 boxes and 3 riding arenas (one covered and 2 uncovered).

Due to the large size of the agricultural facilities, there are several rooms of excellent size with all the necessary facilities and infrastructures, both for holding events and for tourism, residential development or other private or business uses.

The palace has an imposing patio and a cloister that gives access to its interior. On the lower floor there are three interconnected lounges with various circulation areas and sanitary facilities; on the upper floor there are several bedrooms which give the property enormous potential for tourist or residential use. There is also a three-storey building attached to the palace and integrated into the property. Initially conceived as a hotel, it has excellent potential to complement any future use of the Paço de Belas.

What makes this property unique, apart from the excellent state of conservation of the Paço and the former agricultural facilities with the various uses they could have (totalling around 6000 sq. m of building area), is the fact that they are set in a 20 hectare estate, perfectly protected from all the surroundings, due to the great wealth of vegetation with large secular trees, permitting great privacy. All this within easy reach of the airport and just 20 minutes from the centre of Lisbon.


Local information

The area where the town of Belas is located has characteristics that have determined its settlement, organisation and development. Situated between mountain ranges, some of which have little relief, others more rugged, such as the Carregueira mountain range, interspersed with valleys fertilised by abundant water lines, Belas dates back to the dawn of nationality, so the boundaries of the parish and town of Belas are known as far back as the 12th century. The archaeological records found allow us to determine the existence of human presence since the Middle Palaeolithic (40,000 to 30,000 BC), passing through the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Megalithic periods (we can find some megalithic complexes, such as the Monte Abraão megalithic complex, with a markedly funerary aspect), but always showing a very low population density. Only in the Romanisation period do we find traces of a significant population density and some organisation. The remains of the Roman dam, located on the road linking Belas to Caneças, stand out from this period. There are also some traces of the Arab presence, mainly in the local place names (examples: Massamá, Queluz, Meleças).

Belas was a town and county seat until 1855. Until liberalism, it consisted only of the parish of Belas, and later the parish of Barcarena was added. In 1849, it had 4,041 inhabitants and 49 square kilometres. It was granted town status again on 24 July 1997. In 2013, as part of the administrative reform, it was annexed to the parish of Queluz, creating the Union of Parishes of Queluz and Belas.