Convento dos Capuchos

A former Franciscan monastery deep in the Sintra forest — cells entirely lined with cork, visited by Lord Byron, and strikingly atmospheric today.

The Convento dos Capuchos — also known as the Cork Convent — lies deep in the forest of Sintra-Cascais National Park, about five kilometres southwest of Sintra. Franciscan monks built the monastery in 1548 in a spirit of extreme austerity: the cramped cells, chapels and corridors are entirely lined with cork to keep out damp and cold. Lord Byron visited in 1809 and was profoundly impressed. Today the convent survives as a ruin that can be explored on a self-guided walk. The overgrown forest setting, low doorways and moss-covered walls give the site an extraordinary atmosphere of retreat and silence.