Lawrence's Hotel is in Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Lisbon District of Portugal. Opened by an Englishman in 1764, it is reputedly the oldest, still-functioning, hotel on the Iberian peninsula, although it has not been open continuously. [1] [2]
Named Lawrence's Hotel after the original owner, the hotel has been sold several times and has undergone several name changes. In 1850 it was called the English Inn. It was purchased after 1880 by an Englishman named Durand, who renamed it after himself. At the end of the 19th Century it was bought by an Irishman, Michael Gallway, who used part of the premises to establish a pastry shop. In 1949 it became the Estalagem dos Cavaleiros (Knights’ Inn). It closed in 1961 and was not re-opened until the early 1990s having been purchased by a Dutch couple in 1989 who restored the building and returned the hotel to its original name. [1] [2] It changed ownership again in 2016. [3]
Over the years the hotel has played host to some important guests. In 1809 Lord Byron wrote part of his famous work Childe Harold's Pilgrimage while staying there, describing Sintra as a “paradise”. The Portuguese novelist José Maria de Eça de Queirós stayed there on several occasions and made reference to the Lawrence in his novels Os Maias and The Mystery of the Sintra Road . Other Portuguese writers to stay there have included Alexandre Herculano, Ramalho Ortigão, Camilo Castelo Branco, and Álvaro Bulhão Pato. [1] [2] The English writer William Beckford was also a guest as, later, were Bill Clinton and Margaret Thatcher. [4]
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator, and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a flat-screen television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, a business center with computers, printers, and other office equipment, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.
Sintra is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of 319.23 square kilometres (123.26 sq mi). Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated municipalities of Portugal. A major tourist destination famed for its picturesqueness, the municipality has several historic palaces, castles, scenic beaches, parks and gardens.
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José Maria de Eça de Queiroz or Queirós is generally considered to have been the greatest Portuguese writer in the realist style. Zola considered him to be far greater than Flaubert. In the London Observer, Jonathan Keates ranked him alongside Dickens, Balzac and Tolstoy.
Cascais is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourist destination. Its marina hosts events such as the America's Cup and the town of Estoril, part of the Cascais municipality, hosts conferences such as the Horasis Global Meeting.
Eugénio de Paula Tavares was a Cape Verdean poet. He is known through his famous poems (mornas), mostly written in the Creole of Brava.
Nova Sintra is a city in the central part of the island of Brava in southwestern Cape Verde. It serves as the seat of the Brava Municipality. The settlement is named after Sintra, the summer residence of the Portuguese kings. Its population is about 1,500. Its elevation is around 500 meters. Since 2010, Nova Sintra has been a city. Agriculture is the predominant source of income on Brava. Tourism is less developed, but there are a few small hotels and guest houses. The "aluguer" buses to the other villages start from Praça Eugénio Tavares.
José Duarte Ramalho Ortigão was a Portuguese writer of the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Tourism in Portugal serves millions of international and domestic tourists. Tourists visit to see cities, historic landmarks, enjoy beaches, or religious sites. As of 2019, Portugal had 27 million visitors. The most popular destinations were Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, the Portuguese Riviera, Madeira, Sintra, Óbidos and Fátima. The most popular with internationals were Lisbon, the Algarve and Northern Portugal. National tourists prefer Northern Portugal, followed by Central Portugal and the Algarve.
The Monserrate Palace is a palatial villa located near Sintra, the traditional summer resort of the Portuguese court in the foothills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean north of the capital, Lisbon.
The Seteais Palace is a neoclassical palace located in Sintra, on the Portuguese Riviera, operating as a luxury hotel known as the Tivoli Palácio de Seteais Hotel. The palace is a national landmark and is included in the UNESCO Cultural Landscape of Sintra World Heritage Site listing.
The Convent of the Friars Minor Capuchin, popularly known as the Convent of the Capuchos, but officially the Convento de Santa Cruz da Serra da Sintra, is a historical convent consisting of small quarters and public spaces located in the civil parish of São Pedro de Penaferrim, in Sintra Municipality, Portugal. Its creation was associated with the Portuguese Viceroy of India, D. João de Castro, and his family, but became a pious community of reclusive clergy that continued to occupy cramped humble spaces in the complex until the religious orders were abolished in Portugal.
The Castle of the Moors is a hilltop medieval castle located in the central Portuguese civil parish of Santa Maria e São Miguel, in the municipality of Sintra, about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Lisbon. Built by the Moors in the 8th and 9th centuries, it was an important strategic point during the Reconquista, and was taken by Christian forces after the fall of Lisbon in 1147. It is classified as a National Monument, part of the Sintra Cultural Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The NewsMuseum is a museum dedicated to news, media and communication located in Sintra, Portugal. Inspired by the Washington’s Newseum (USA), it was inaugurated in the first minutes of 25 April 2016, in an event attended by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The Portuguese Riviera is a term used in the tourist industry for the affluent coastal region to the west of Lisbon, Portugal, centered on the coastal municipalities of Cascais, Oeiras and Sintra. It is coterminous with the Estoril Coast and occasionally known as the Costa do Sol. Portuguese themselves do not use this expression.
Summer architecture was a Portuguese architectural movement originating in the Portuguese Riviera, in late 19th and early 20th century, when the region became a popular resort destination for the Portuguese Royal Family and the Portuguese aristocracy. The movement is not characterized by any single architectural style or artistic school, but rather unified by common themes, including leisure, wellness, exoticism, and heterotopia.
Quinta da Beloura is an affluent gated community and golf resort located in Linhó, Sintra, on the Portuguese Riviera. The community is known for hosting numerous golf tournaments, tennis opens, and equestrian & dressage events, as well as for being the home of numerous famous personalities.
The Sanctuary of Peninha is situated in the Sintra Mountains in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, in the Lisbon District of Portugal. It stands at an altitude of 448 metres on top of a rocky outcrop, which provides views over the coastline and inland areas. In addition to a baroque chapel, completed in 1710, the location contains the Palace of Peninha, which dates from 1918, as well as remains of a hermitage. The interiors of neither the chapel nor the palace can presently be visited.
Linhó is an affluent village in the municipality of Sintra, on the Portuguese Riviera, known for its resorts, restaurants, and its two prominent gated communities, Quinta da Penha Longa and Quinta da Beloura. Linhó is home to a large expatriate community, the only American school in Portugal, and has hosted a Bilderberg Meeting.
Alice Lawrence Oram was a British journalist and translator living in Portugal. As a journalist, she broke the news overseas of the 5 October 1910 revolution that overthrew the Portuguese monarchy.
Cultural landscape of Sintra | ||
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