Why this ride
122 km from Algés to Algés, about 2 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Royal Building of Mafra - Palace and back through Cultural Landscape of Sintra.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tower of Belém and Royal Building of Mafra - Palace starting at Algés
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 122 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 13
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Atlantic Coast N247
For about 29 km this is Atlantic Coast N247, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 29 km
- Named road
- Atlantic Coast N247
Atlantic Coast N247
Water arrives beside the road and stays for 25 km. The line follows the shore because there is nowhere else for it to go. Slow enough to look. The surface follows the shoreline, so the corners arrive where the water decided, not where an engineer did.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 29 km
- Named road
- Atlantic Coast N247
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tower of Belém
The Tower of Belém was never really a defensive tower, though it looks like a stronghold. King Manuel I ordered it built in 1514 on a rocky islet near the north bank of the Tagus, as part of a system of fortifications guarding the river mouth and the route to Lisbon, with cannon on the lower platform and living quarters above. Francisco de Arruda, who had worked in Morocco, designed it, and the style mixes Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance touches with the Manueline repertoire of ropes, shields with the Cross of the Order of Christ, and stone sails. A tiny stone rhinoceros under one of the turrets is often described as the first European sculpture of the animal, a creature that had arrived in Lisbon in 1515 as a gift for the Pope, and which Dürer famously drew from a description.
Read the complete Tower of Belem write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tower of Belém is where the day begins. Next is Cultural Landscape of Sintra.
2. Cultural Landscape of Sintra
Lord Byron called Sintra a glorious Eden, and two centuries of romantics, kings and eccentric millionaires have tried hard to prove him right. The granite range rises abruptly west of Lisbon, catching Atlantic moisture so that its slopes are draped in mist and dense, damp forest of oak, cork, fern and exotic trees planted by nineteenth-century gardeners. On the peaks and in the woods stand the Moorish Castle, its walls snaking along the ridge; the Pena Palace, a riot of yellow and red towers built for King Ferdinand II in the mid-1800s; the Quinta da Regaleira, with its spiralling initiation well; and the exotic Monserrate palace. UNESCO inscribed the whole cultural landscape in 1995.
Read the complete Cultural Landscape of Sintra write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Cultural Landscape of Sintra comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Royal Building of Mafra - Palace.
3. Royal Building of Mafra - Palace
King João V of Portugal had a great deal of Brazilian gold and a vow to keep, and the result is the Royal Building of Mafra, a palace, basilica and monastery so large that it seems to belong to a different scale of town altogether. Construction began in 1717, reportedly in thanks for the birth of an heir, and the project absorbed enormous resources and tens of thousands of workers. The facade stretches for some two hundred and twenty metres, with the basilica in the centre and the royal apartments in the wings, the king's at one end and the queen's at the other, a long walk apart.
Read the complete Royal Building of Mafra - Palace write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Royal Building of Mafra - Palace. Next is back through Cultural Landscape of Sintra.
4. back through Cultural Landscape of Sintra
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Cultural Landscape of Sintra write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Cultural Landscape of Sintra, late in the day. Next is Tower of Belem.
5. Tower of Belém
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tower of Belem write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Tower of Belem. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Tower of Belém to Cultural Landscape of Sintra
Tower of Belém → Cultural Landscape of Sintra is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Cultural Landscape of Sintra to Royal Building of Mafra - Palace
Cultural Landscape of Sintra → Royal Building of Mafra - Palace is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Royal Building of Mafra - Palace to back through Cultural Landscape of Sintra
Royal Building of Mafra - Palace → back through Cultural Landscape of Sintra is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Cultural Landscape of Sintra to Tower of Belem
back through Cultural Landscape of Sintra → Tower of Belem is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.