Paco Ducal
Paco Ducal
4.5
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
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4.5
787 reviews
Excellent
451
Very good
229
Average
55
Poor
21
Terrible
31
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Kevin S
Pontypridd, UK7,058 contributions
July 2021
Undoubtedly you will want to visit this highlight of Vila Vicosa but for us it proved a little disappointing. In other national palaces, Queloz and Mafra, you could enter and view by yourselves at your own pace which we prefer. Here it was as a group only. And as the group would be in Portugese only, which we do not speak, hardly satisfactory. But without the many descriptions that existed in Mafra and Queloz a guide here to describe rooms and furnishings is needed, just in more than Portugese. And a group of 14 in sometimes quite small rooms in Coronavirus times, people allowed in at their own intervals would have worked better.
Also access to the Capella was closed. Even going out into the gardens, fresh air for the group instead of the being in the building, was not allowed. So while many rooms are very beautiful and well furnished ultimately with those current restrictions and still a full price of €7, disappointing.
Also access to the Capella was closed. Even going out into the gardens, fresh air for the group instead of the being in the building, was not allowed. So while many rooms are very beautiful and well furnished ultimately with those current restrictions and still a full price of €7, disappointing.
Written 27 July 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Henry F
Ayr, UK74 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
Since this splendid palace is the main attraction in Vila Vicosa, we were very keen to visit it. Our visit got off to a poor start when we were studiously ignored by several people behind the desk for several minutes. Next we were informed that the guided tour (the only way to visit) would be in Portuguese only. We chose to leave, and are very disappointed in their lack of customer friendliness or courtesy. An own-goal on their part.
Written 16 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
shreiselust
Canton of Zurich, Switzerland12 contributions
Apr 2024 • Friends
Paco Ducal can only be visited with a one-hour guided tour in Portuguese for €8. After a long wait, we were rushed through the palace rooms in just under 35 minutes; in some rooms we were not even allowed to stop for a moment. We (people from Portugal, Germany and Switzerland who are very interested in history and art) were just as annoyed by this impertinent treatment as we were disappointed by what we had irretrievably missed.
Written 17 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cymro
Coimbra, Portugal3,310 contributions
Oct 2020
I visited at about 16;50 on Sunday to find it closed and the doors locked. On checking the admittance hours sign, photo attached, I discovered that while the palace is normally open until 6pm, from October to May it closes at 5pm with the last entry at 4pm. The palace looks nice from the outside. It seems that I may have had to wait a long time for a guided tour in English as I was alone and the tours are only done in groups, so I would have had to wait in the hope that other English speakers visited.
Written 22 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Angel T
Marbella, Spain8,187 contributions
Apr 2024 • Couples
Another of the jewels discovered this week in Alentejo, yesterday the Rainha Santa Isabel Chapel in Estremoz and today this Paço Ducal in Vila Viçosa.
The Terreiro do Paço is surrounded by several impressive buildings. One of them, the most important, the Paço Ducal. Palace of the Dukes of Bragança, a dukedom started by Alfonso, illegitimate son of João I, to whom the king granted that title in 1442. In 1640 the eighth Duke of Bragança began the royal dynasty of the Bragança that lasted until 1910.
A guided tour in Portuguese of about an hour through much of the luxurious royal rooms on the first floor of the palace that overlook a beautiful French garden.
Walls with tile panels, portraits of the dukes, tapestries from Brussels, Persian carpets, a huge "mat" from Arraiolos, French silk walls, frescoes and all the furniture,...
A visit worth making. Admission €8. You cannot take photos.
The Terreiro do Paço is surrounded by several impressive buildings. One of them, the most important, the Paço Ducal. Palace of the Dukes of Bragança, a dukedom started by Alfonso, illegitimate son of João I, to whom the king granted that title in 1442. In 1640 the eighth Duke of Bragança began the royal dynasty of the Bragança that lasted until 1910.
A guided tour in Portuguese of about an hour through much of the luxurious royal rooms on the first floor of the palace that overlook a beautiful French garden.
Walls with tile panels, portraits of the dukes, tapestries from Brussels, Persian carpets, a huge "mat" from Arraiolos, French silk walls, frescoes and all the furniture,...
A visit worth making. Admission €8. You cannot take photos.
Written 11 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sérgio Ângelo
Amora, Portugal52 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
An unmissable monument when visiting Vila Viçosa. It's huge and the grandeur begins right in the Terreiro do Paço. Many rooms and a lot of history accumulated in these facilities.
It's a well-spent 2 hours and always with a guide, who unravels the story at a good pace.
It's a well-spent 2 hours and always with a guide, who unravels the story at a good pace.
Written 20 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David Earley
Midhurst, UK3 contributions
June 2023 • Couples
We arrived at afternoon opening time (14:00) to be told that we had to wait until 14:30 for a guided tour. The tour was in Portuguese with no English translation - we were not allowed to walk around unguided and there were no headphones. So we left
Written 4 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anita W
46 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
If you visit Vila Viçosa, a visit to the royal palace should not be missed. You can only visit the palace with a Guide who will tell you all about the palace and its furnished rooms in rapt Portuguese. Unfortunately there was no tour in English and we especially watched a lot.
Taking pictures is forbidden in the palace so you have to save everything in your memory.
Despite this an impressive visit, you get a good idea of the wealth of the genus Braganca.
Taking pictures is forbidden in the palace so you have to save everything in your memory.
Despite this an impressive visit, you get a good idea of the wealth of the genus Braganca.
Automatically translated
Written 18 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Companion56596
Lisbon, Portugal5 contributions
Oct 2024 • Couples
We made an excellent guided visit to Paço Ducal. The Guide was very professional and friendly. He was willing to answer all the questions that were asked. It is always preferable to have a Guide present, rather than an audioguide.
I was sorry not to be able to see the portrait of the first Duchess of Bragança, D. Catherine. I was informed that the portrait exists, but is not exposed. Having played such an important role after the death of Cardinal King Henry II, and in the dynastic crisis that followed, I think the House of Bragança Foundation could consider exposing her portrait at the Villa Viçosa Palace, where she lived.
I was sorry not to be able to see the portrait of the first Duchess of Bragança, D. Catherine. I was informed that the portrait exists, but is not exposed. Having played such an important role after the death of Cardinal King Henry II, and in the dynastic crisis that followed, I think the House of Bragança Foundation could consider exposing her portrait at the Villa Viçosa Palace, where she lived.
Automatically translated
Written 21 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
José Chantre de Sousa
Oeiras, Portugal910 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
The Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa is a Palace that cannot be missed. It is the ex-libris of this beautiful village.
The visits are guided, and that's a good thing, because this way, you don't pass by History.
You cannot take photographs inside; It’s about seeing with your eyes, and keeping it in your heart.
The visits are guided, and that's a good thing, because this way, you don't pass by History.
You cannot take photographs inside; It’s about seeing with your eyes, and keeping it in your heart.
Written 7 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
los niños no pagan
Written 12 January 2019
Boa noite
qual é o tarifário da entrada no Palácio de Vila— Viçosa?
Written 7 December 2017
Opening and closing hours in August for yours. Can you go round Palace without a guide?
Written 1 March 2017
You cannot go without a guide (due to security reasons).
For August:
Tuesdays - only PM 14:00 - 18:00 (last visit 17:00)
Wednesday to Sunday - AM 10:00 - 13:00 (last visit 12:00)
Wednesday to Sunday - PM 14:00 - 18:00 (last visit 17:00)
Written 2 March 2017
What time is the first tour? ( We will be there on 5 August 2017?)
Written 1 March 2017
We were there about 10.00am but went round on an organised tour with the travel company. Anyone who enjoys stately homes will love this place.
Written 2 March 2017
Bom dia
O tempo de visita ao Paço Ducal é de 1 hora.
Ás terças de manhã está encerrado, nos outros dias abre por volta das 10h e encerra ás 13h. A ultima entrada para visita é ás 12h porque fecha ás 13h.
De tarde abre ás 14h e 30m e encerra ás 18h. (Todos os dias incluindo a terça e custa cerca de 6€)
Boa visita
Written 16 March 2016
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