This gargantuan site covers an immense footprint. It incorporates a church, royal apartments, monastery with the highlight being the library. Overall it lacks a little bit of the wow factor but is still very impressive.

The Palacio has a lot of historical significance to Portugal. We went with a tour guide who was able to explain a lot of the details that were not readily apparent. Of particular interest were the King's chambers, Queen's chambers, cathedral, and the library in the monastery. The royal chambers really gave an impression of how they lived during their reign. What really should have been the highlight was the library. It looked spectacular, but as a visitor, we could only step into the very back of the library. I would have loved the opportunity to look through the shelves and had better angles for pictures. Towards the end of our tour, we stopped by a scale model of the building and realized we had seen so little of the entire palace. Hopefully one day they open more to the public.

Taken from guide- The Palácio Nacional de Mafra is, in I all aspects, a remarkable building. Remarkable for its brilliant and complex architectural design, for the quality and nature of its materials and orders, and for the refinement and excellence of the execution of its marbles. One of the first expressions of globalization (from the gold from Brazil to the European orders), the monument is, with its Library, its six Organs (an unique set in the world) and the two imposing Carillons (the biggest historical bell/musical complex in the world) one of the most important Baroque Monuments. King Joao V (1689/1750) had it built in the first half of the 18th century, in fulfilment of a vow to obtain succession of his marriage to Maria Anna of Austria (1683/1754), or for the cure of a serious disease he suffered from. The building comprises a Royal Palace, a Basilica, a Convent and Hunting Grounds (Tapada). The building is symmetrically developed from a central axis, the Basilica, the main spot of a long façade flanked by two towers, and, in the rear, by a convent for the Order of Saint Francis of Province of Arrábida, also occupied by the Augustinians between 1771 and 1792. The direction of the construction work was led by João Frederico Ludovice, a German goldsmith and military engineer with architectural training in Italy, who adopted a classicist baroque model inspired by the papal Rome, with Bernini and Borromini influences, as well as some German ones. In 1717, the laying of the foundation stone was carried out and, in October 22nd 1730, the day of the 41st birthday of the king, the blessing of the Basilica was conducted. For the Royal Works of Mara, King João V ordered from France and Italy sculotures and paintings, religious vestments and adornments and from Flanders, two carillons with 102 bells. The painting collection comprises works by Masters such as Masucci, Trevisani, Conca or Quillard and also the Portuguese painters André Gonçalves, Oliveira Bernardes and Vieira Lusitano, the last two King's scholars in Rome. The statuary of the Basilica, also by royal order, is the most significant collection of Italian baroque sculpture outside Italy, indicating on the part of the Magnanimous King a desire for magnificence and for international prestige, as well as an attempt to renew this form of art, that had been losing tradition in Portugal.

Last week i was in Lisbon for a third time, but I decided to travel to Mafra encouraged by my friend. After an hour bus trip from Lisbon I saw a great, monumental palace and basilica listed on the UNESCO list. I was suprised how few people were there, only school trips. Jose Saromago wrote a story about this place, I recommend to read it.

Massive palace full of interesting spaces - an infirmary for monks, biggest single room library in Europe? , King and Queen’s quarters, room full of reindeer furniture, the biggest grandfather clock I have ever seen etc etc . Huge long corridors and so much space you will never feel cramped. But you will need trainers!