Fundação da Casa de Mateus

This was a very special tour and a special estate to visit. The home has been well maintained over hundreds of years and has a wealth of beautiful antiques and art that is museum worthy. The architecture is rich and the gardens were lovely. It is a scenic drive to get to the location and well worth the trip. The carved chestnut rooms and lithographs were amazing. The Foundation has done an excellent job of preserving their heritage.

We bought tickets only for the gardens and we loved it. Beautiful arranged gardens, with an enormous variety. For €1 we took an audio guide, and I can recommend that.
Outside the Quinta, in front of the entrance, there's a very nice terrace for a coffee, a drink or a lunch.
Don't park your car inside. It costs €12. Outside ( right side of the Quinta), there's a street where you can park for free.

The most magical experience I’ve had in Portugal so far. I drove in my car rental from Porto, nice and easy drive. Straightforward directions from google maps. Parking was a bit confusing but there’s a side street where you can park or right across the from the gate entrance if space is available. There is a cost for a guided tour (only) of the house/chapel and self guided tour of the gardens.

Very solo travel friendly! I recommend 110%!

Very beautiful place where the wine Mateus is made. A gorgeous garden that you’d want to spend hours admiring. Lots of history as well if you take the full tour.

What a heavenly place! Well cared garden, old mansion, some wine shops, palms, magnolias, backyard, wine yards, the view, the smell, the sound, the taste! All this made me feel peaceful, calm and happy! Definitely worth a shot!

Well worth the visit. The tour was very interesting and the gardens are magical. My favourite room was the library.

Worth the trip, even though I didn’t know what to put in google maps (accidentally navigated to the stadium for FC Vila Real first). Parked on the side of the road; tickets easy to purchase along w a self tour audio guide. Classical gardens were beautiful. You can envision what it was like here way back when. A must see for lovers of baroque style.

Great little educational stop while touring the Douro valley! The gardens we're great to walk around in, very peaceful. They offer wine tasting but you need to book that in advance.

We stopped here after deciding to avoid highways on our road trip and randomly passing by, and it was a pleasant surprise! A beautiful villa and gardens. We did not do the guided tour but spent about an hour wandering around and eating cherries straight from the trees. Would definitely recommend to anyone in the area/passing by.

Gorgeous palace with baroque architecture and so much history! This is a half public and half private space, so sometimes you can meet the Contessa and her dog. This is also a winery where you can sample some of their wines. I suggest joining in the tour group to understand the history of the palace. We went here as part of our day trip to Douro valley with our guide Pedro (find his small group tour on Airbnb experiences). He also explained the winery and process to us, which was so much fun!

The house and gardens are so exquisite. Enjoy a few hours here exploring. They also have a vegetable and fruit garden which was so fun to see.

A national treasure hidden in the Douro Valley. A cultural center in northern Portugal. An architecture gem included in text books on Portuguese architecture. But most of all to me is its surrounding vineyards and veggie gardens - makes one want to stay forever.

Gorgeous place with a special atmosphere. Except being depicted on the label this place has nothing to do with that fizzy rose wine. The gardens alone are worth a visit.

Great garden, the guided tour is well worth the price and visit, the garden visit is without guide. The tour guide also recommended excellent place do lunch nearby.

Beautifull house and gardens.

Breathtaking mansion with 14 generations of history!
Definitely a must see while in Vila Real. It is not in the city centre but it's a worthwhile detour!
There is an option to do a 30 minute tour of the house only, and a 50 minute one that includes a guided visit to the chapel and the beautiful gardens.
We did the 30 minute tour and our guide was super interesting, attentive and answered all our questions!
It is a bit expensive (we paid 13€ per person to visit the gardens and the 30 minute tour) but in my opinion it was worth the money.

Very fun and educational experience

This place is incredible! So much history and natural life to immerse yourself in. This woman from Cape Verde makes an excellent espresso and gave us a lovely tour of the estate in English. Her knowledge of the Mateus family history, portuguese colonial history and european history was extensive. The library was incredible as well, pictured are first edition Fernando Pessoa volumes 😍

Amazing Gardens and view. If you're lucky you'll get tge chance to taste some graps straight from the vines. Garden entrance is 9.5 E and with a tour inside the house its 13 E.

This Palace and Garden is just Marvelous! You'll enjoy your time just walking in the garden. It's really really beautiful. I hope you'll have the chance to visit this place.

This place is absolutely beautiful and a must visit for everyone. The garden was breathtaking. The roses and the hedges were perfectly trimmed and taken care of. We also went on a guided tour. The tour guide was so knowledgeable and made the experience great. I highly recommend getting the tour.