Pena Palace Quiz: Sintra's Colorful Romantic Castle

This Pena Palace quiz climbs the forested hills of Sintra in Portugal. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on King Ferdinand II, the old monastery it replaced, Baron von Eschwege, Romantic architecture, bright red and yellow walls, Moorish and Manueline styles, the Triton arch, Pena Park's exotic trees, Queen Amélie's 1910 exile and UNESCO status.

Start Pena Palace Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Town
Which Portuguese town is Pena Palace in?
King
Which king built Pena Palace?
Before
What stood on the site before the palace?
Era
When was the palace mainly built?
Architect
Which baron helped design it?
Colors
Which bold colors cover parts of the palace?
Styles
Which styles does it mix?
Triton
What guards one archway?
Park
What surrounds the palace?
UNESCO
What did UNESCO list in 1995?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which Portuguese town is Pena Palace in?
Answer: Sintra
It is near Lisbon.
Q2: Which king built Pena Palace?
Answer: Ferdinand II
He was the husband of Queen Maria II.
Q3: What stood on the site before the palace?
Answer: A monastery
Its ruins were rebuilt into the palace.
Q4: When was the palace mainly built?
Answer: 1840s and 1850s
It is a Romantic creation.
Q5: Which baron helped design it?
Answer: Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege
He was a German-born engineer.
Q6: Which bold colors cover parts of the palace?
Answer: Red and yellow
They were restored in the 1990s.
Q7: Which styles does it mix?
Answer: Moorish, Gothic and Manueline
It is a fanciful blend.
Q8: What guards one archway?
Answer: A carved sea monster figure
It is half man, half fish.
Q9: What surrounds the palace?
Answer: A park with exotic trees
Ferdinand planted species from around the world.
Q10: What did UNESCO list in 1995?
Answer: The Cultural Landscape of Sintra
Palaces and gardens are included.

A Romantic King's Fairy-Tale Hilltop

Pena Palace crowns a forested hilltop in Sintra, near Lisbon. In the 1840s King Ferdinand II, husband of Queen Maria II, bought the ruins of a monastery there and began turning it into a summer palace. Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege helped design it, and work continued into the 1850s.

The palace is a masterpiece of Romanticism, mixing Moorish, Gothic and Manueline styles with domes, battlements and tiled walls. Parts are painted bold red and yellow, colors restored in the 1990s. A carved sea monster, half man and half fish, guards one archway.

Ferdinand surrounded the palace with Pena Park, planting exotic trees from around the world. The last queen, Amélie, left the palace in 1910 when the monarchy fell. In 1995 UNESCO listed the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, including Pena and its neighboring palaces and gardens.

What This Quiz Teaches

Travel fans will enjoy these questions.

Who built the palace
What stood there before
Which styles it blends
What surrounds it
How it is protected

Did You Know?

Fog often wraps the hilltop in the morning.
The Moorish Castle stands on a nearby ridge.
Quinta da Regaleira has a famous initiation well.
Buses climb the steep road to the palace.
Travesseiros are Sintra's famous pastries.