Sintra celebrates the beauty of camellias with themed tours and an exhibition

No winter can dim the charm of Sintra. The camellia trees in bloom, which at this time of year adorn the region's gardens and estates with their colours and shapes, inspire dances and festivities. In February, with the aim of publicising this botanical heritage and bringing it closer to the general public, Parques de Sintra, in collaboration with the Association of Estate Owners in the Sintra Hills and the Portuguese Camellia Association, is promoting a programme specially dedicated to the flower that has become a symbol of the Sintra winter.

On the four Saturdays of the month, the beauty and diversity of these flowers can be appreciated on guided tours of the camellia collections at Villa Sassetti, the Park of Pena, under the management of Parques de Sintra, and two private estates, which are opening their doors for the first time: Quinta do Relógio and Quinta da Cabeça. The celebration culminates with the 12th Camellia Exhibition, held in the Stables of the Park of Pena on the weekend of 22 and 23 February. The programme is rounded off with a visit specially designed for families with children (including an origami workshop).

Unique guided tours of the camellia collections at Quinta do Relógio and Quinta da Cabeça

In Sintra, there are around 200 estates, many of which include remarkable collections of camellias. In the year that marks the 30th anniversary of the classification of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra by UNESCO, Parques de Sintra invites the public to discover four of these collections on the four Saturdays of the month.

The first visit takes place on 1 February at 11am at Quinta do Relógio. Since the 19th century, this site has been characterised by the presence of a neo-Moorish pavilion. In the last decades of the 19th century, a private garden was developed where, around a large lake, rare species such as magnolias, araucarias, sequoias and tree ferns were planted, among dozens of camellias and fuchsias. The gardens are in the final stages of restoration and have been made available exceptionally for this visit.

On 8 February, also at 11am, visitors can visit the camellia collection in Villa Sassetti's romantic garden. In this scenic garden built under the guidance of Luigi Manini, camellias are also protagonists. Visitors can enjoy a collection of cultivars of Italian origin that accompanies the architecture of the house with its circular tower in the Lombard Romanesque style, in terracotta colours.

This will be followed on 15 February at the same time by an unprecedented visit to the Quinta da Cabeça camellia collection, whose oldest buildings are medieval farm buildings. The estate's gardens are laid out in terraces, suggesting successive occupation of the old agricultural plots by the landscaped areas, punctuated by camellias.

This series of four guided tours ends on 22 February at 3.30pm with a tour of the Camellia Garden in the Park of Pena, which features a remarkable collection started by King Ferdinand II in the 19th century and which has been distinguished by the International Camellia Society as a Camellia Garden of Excellence since 2014. Today, after several campaigns to enhance this botanical heritage carried out by Parques de Sintra, the Park of Pena camellia collection consists of 3,858 adult plants, including 441 identified by the names of cultivars attributed to them in the 19th century. The visit begins by appreciating the flowers on display in the Park of Pena Stables, from where we head to the Camellia Garden.

The Park of Pena Stables host 12th Camellia Exhibition

Coinciding with the peak of the flowering season, Parques de Sintra organises an annual exhibition of the region's most beautiful camellia collections. This year, the twelfth edition of the event, will take place over the weekend of 22 and 23 February, at the Park of Pena's Stables.

On Saturday 22nd, the show will be open from 1pm to 5pm. At 2:30pm, the winning camellias in the four categories will be revealed: “Best Camellia on show”; “Best Camellia species on show”; “Best Portuguese Camellia cultivar on show”; and “Best Camelia reticulata on show”.

On Sunday 23rd, the event will run from 10am to 5pm. Also on this day, at 10:30 a.m., there will be a visit to the Camellia Garden in the Park of Pena for younger visitors. After learning more about these flowers from the Orient, participants will be invited to make origami flowers during a creative workshop.

The exhibition is free to enter, upon purchase of a ticket for the Park of Pena, which, like the rest of the estate managed by Parks of Sintra, has free admission for Portuguese residents on Sundays and public holidays.

Participation in the four guided tours of the camellia collections and the origami workshop for families requires advance purchase of a ticket for the symbolic price of €1. Tickets are available on the Parks of Sintra website.

Tickets for the guided tours scheduled for the Park of Pena on 22 and 23 February give access to the Park of Pena, the show and the Mouco Hunting Grounds car park, located 600 metres from the entrance gate to the Chalet of the Countess of Edla (subject to available space).