Why go
The grounds show how the palace staged leisure in the eighteenth century. Seek out the main parterre, the Portico dos Cavalinhos and the long canal to understand the shift from geometric garden display to waterborne festivities. The tile-lined banks are worth close attention even when the canal is still.
The full story
Behind the palace lies a large formal parterre with clipped planting, terraces, fountains and sculpture. Jean-Baptiste Robillon worked on the gardens with the Dutch gardener Gerald van der Kolk, whose influence appears in the canals. The Portico dos Cavalinhos combines allegorical equestrian figures and sphinxes in eighteenth-century dress, blending formal garden design with theatrical invention. Elsewhere, mythological subjects share space with more whimsical statues. A grotto and cascade extend the sequence deeper into the grounds. Magnolia trees lead toward the Robillon wing, from which a double staircase connects to the canal. More than 100 metres long, its walls carry tile panels with seascapes; it was part of a larger network of decorated watercourses. In the eighteenth century, costumed figures sailed model ships along it during outdoor festivities. Present water levels and operation should never be assumed from that history. The surviving structure is enough to show how architecture, planting and performance were once planned together.