Palácio Nacional de Mafra

The Palácio Nacional de Mafra is a palace, a basilica and a Franciscan friary built as one enormous building in the town of Mafra, about 28 kilometres north-west of Lisbon. King João V made a vow in 1711 to build a convent if his queen gave him a child. A daughter was born, and work started in 1717. By the time it was finished in 1755 the plan had grown far beyond a small friary, paid for with gold and diamonds arriving from Brazil.

The numbers are what children remember. The front of the building is 220 metres long. Inside there are about 1,200 rooms, more than 4,700 doors and windows and 156 staircases. On the busiest days of construction, up to 45,000 people worked on the site. Since 2019 the palace, basilica, convent, the Jardim do Cerco garden and the royal hunting park next door have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site together.

The library is the reason most families come. The palace describes it as the largest 18th-century library in Europe in a single room: 1,000 square metres, 88 metres long, with about 30,000 leather-bound books on two levels of wooden shelves and a floor of pink, grey and white marble. Look closely at the shelves. They were never quite finished, so the marble details, gilding and portraits of authors that were planned never went in.

The odd part is who looks after it. At least two colonies of bats live in the library, and at night they eat the insects that would otherwise chew through the wooden shelves and the books. The species include grey long-eared bats and serotine bats. You won’t see them during the day, but children tend to spend the rest of the visit looking up at the ceiling.

For older children, the collection holds some real treasures: a 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle, a Bible printed in seven languages in 1514, and a Latin translation of the Quran from 1543. In 1754 the Pope gave the library permission to keep books that the Church had banned. Film fans may like to know that the room played the Emperor of Lilliput’s war chamber in the 1996 television version of Gulliver’s Travels.

The route runs through a long line of royal rooms. These are the ones most likely to hold a child’s attention:

• Sala dos Troféus de Caça, the hunting trophy room. After Portugal became a republic in 1910, it was redecorated with trophies from the palace’s hunting park. The walls are covered in deer skulls, and the chairs, tables and candlesticks are made from antlers, with deerskin on the seats. It’s gruesome enough to be a favourite.
• Sala de Jogos, the royal games room, where the family and their guests played. It has a spinning-top game (jogo do pião), a Chinese billiards table, a large French billiards table and a snooker table.
• Sala de Diana, named after the Roman goddess of hunting painted on the ceiling. At one end, a painting pretends to be a door left half open. It was also called the Sala da Tocha because a candle was kept burning here all night.
• Sala das Descobertas, whose ceiling shows Portugal’s age of sea voyages: Prince Henry the Navigator, Pedro Álvares Cabral, Christopher Columbus, and the giant Adamastor threatening Vasco da Gama on his way to India.
• Sala das Invasões Napoleónicas, with battle paintings from the Peninsular War and a side table from the ship that carried the royal family to Brazil in 1807 when Napoleon’s army invaded.
• Sala da Maquete, with a wooden model of the whole building made in 2017 for its 300th anniversary. It helps children see how big the place is: the building covers about 38,000 square metres.
• The dining room, where the table and chairs were made by prisoners at Lisbon’s penitentiary and given to King Carlos I. The royal household ate four meals a day.

The route also takes in the old infirmary, a small hospital where friar nurses, a doctor and a blood-letter looked after the sick. It had separate rooms for patients in isolation, the seriously ill and those getting better. Sixteen bed compartments face an altar so patients could follow Mass from bed. Next to it is the infirmary kitchen, one of the smallest in the building but the only one you can visit, laid out with copper pans from the old royal kitchens.

The basilica at the centre of the building was closed for works when we checked. It holds six organs built between 1792 and 1807 that were designed to play together, which the palace says is unique in the world. The two bell towers hold 120 bells, from 2.7 kilograms up to 12 tonnes, including two carillons cast in 1730 in Liège and Antwerp.

The palace agenda lists a carillon concert every Sunday on the south tower, with a carillonneur playing well-known Portuguese and international tunes. It’s a good reason to plan a Sunday visit; check the agenda for the time.

A standard ticket was €15 when checked in September 2026. Children up to 12 go free. Ages 13 to 24 and over-65s pay half. Families with at least one adult and one child also get 50% off the standard price, so two parents with young children pay €7.50 each. Discounts can’t be combined.

If you live in Portugal, a national scheme gives residents free entry to 37 state museums, monuments and palaces, including Mafra, on up to 52 days a year. Bring your Cartão de Cidadão. Visitors with a disability of 60% or more get in free with one companion.

The palace opens from 09:30 to 17:30, with last entry at 16:30, and the library and infirmary close at 17:15. It’s closed every Tuesday, which catches people out. The shop keeps shorter hours, with a lunch break from 12:30 to 14:00.

This is a long walk down corridors and up and down stairs, and the palace asks visitors not to run on the staircases. Small children may flag, so a carrier is easier than a buggy; ask at the entrance about the best route if you do bring one. Backpacks and large bags have to be left at the entrance, and you can’t eat or drink inside, so have a snack before you start.

The palace asks for quiet, and noisy phones and devices aren’t allowed. Some rooms may be restricted during religious services, and filming or photographing during worship is not allowed. Pets can’t come in, though guide dogs can.

For parking, the palace points visitors to the Parque Intermodal do Alto da Vela and a car park on Rua Canal, both a short walk away.

Teenagers studying José Saramago’s novel Memorial do Convento (published in English as Baltasar and Blimunda) will recognise the building. Its hero works on the construction, and the book describes hauling a giant stone from the quarry to the site. Wikipedia’s account says 1,383 workers died during the building, which gives a history lesson with some weight. The palace itself makes a good starting point for the Portuguese age of discoveries, the Napoleonic invasions and the royal family’s flight to Brazil.

The Tapada Nacional de Mafra, the royal hunting forest where the antler trophies came from, is just outside town and makes an outdoor half to the day. The coast is a short drive west: Praia da Foz do Lizandro is where the Rio Lizandro meets the sea, and Praia do Sul is in Ericeira itself. On a rainy afternoon, burn off energy at Urban Park Mafra. In December, the town’s Christmas village is on our What’s on page.

Do children pay at Mafra Palace?

Yes, children up to and including 12 go free. Teenagers from 13 pay half, and families with at least one adult and one child get 50% off the adult tickets.

Can you see the bats in the library?

Almost certainly not. The bats sleep during the day and hunt insects at night, when the palace is closed. Children still enjoy knowing they are there.

How long does a visit take?

Allow at least an hour and a half for the palace route. The library comes towards the end, so keep some energy for it.

Is it open on Tuesdays?

No. The palace is closed every Tuesday.

Can you take a buggy?

The visit involves long corridors and several staircases, so a baby carrier is easier. Large bags must be left at the entrance.