Convento dos Capuchos

The Convento dos Capuchos is one of the most striking monastic sites in the Serra de Sintra, a forested hillside that forms part of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park and a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Founded in the sixteenth century by Franciscan friars, the convent is renowned for its extreme austerity: the monks lined their tiny cells with cork to insulate against the damp mountain air, earning the building its popular name, the Cork Convent. Lord Byron visited in the early nineteenth century and described it in verse, and the site has drawn travellers ever since.

The complex sits within dense woodland a short drive from the historic centre of Sintra, and its low, irregular passages and chapel feel entirely unlike the grand palaces that dominate the town below. Visitors today explore the cork-lined cells, the communal spaces, and the surrounding gardens at their own pace using a standard entry ticket, taking in a place that remained in continuous monastic use for over two centuries before its eventual abandonment.