Visiting Mafra

Mafra is a municipality on the coast north-west of Lisbon, with the town of Mafra and its palace inland and the village of Ericeira on the Atlantic. The palace, the hunting park and the surf coast are the three reasons most people come.

This page covers how to reach Mafra, what to see in and around it, and its food and festivities.

Getting to Mafra

• By road: Mafra is about 40 kilometres from Lisbon, reached by the A8 motorway and the A21, which links the town to Ericeira.
• By bus: buses run from Lisbon to Mafra and Ericeira.

In the municipality of Mafra

• Palace, basilica and library: the Royal Building of Mafra, described on its own page.
• Cerco Garden: the walled Baroque garden beside the palace, with its orchard and aromatic plants.
• Church of Santa Marta: a church of 1760 on the site of an older hermitage, in the town.
• Forts of the coast: the Milreu and São Lourenço forts, built during the War of Restoration to guard the landing places.

Beaches in Mafra

The beaches of the municipality lie along the Ericeira coast, from Foz do Lizandro in the south to São Lourenço in the north.

Food in Mafra

• Mafra bread: the bread of the municipality, sold at its markets and celebrated at a yearly bread festival.
• Seafood of Ericeira: fish, shellfish and goose barnacles, served in the village restaurants.
• Dried ray: ray dried in the sun and cured in brine, an old way of keeping fish in Ericeira.
• Fresh cheese and fruit: fresh cheese, and pears, strawberries and lemons from the farmland of the municipality.

Places to visit in Mafra

Mafra, Portugal

Royal Building of Mafra – Palace, Basilica, Convent & Hunting Park

Royal Building of Mafra – Palace, Basilica, Convent & Hunting Park

Tapada de Mafra

Tapada de Mafra

Ericeira Surf Coast

Ericeira Surf Coast

Ericeira

Iberian Wolf Recovery Centre

Iberian Wolf Recovery Centre

History of Mafra

History of Mafra

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Visiting Mafra