Quinta das Lágrimas

Quinta das Lágrimas is located in Coimbra on the left side of the Mondego River and occupies an area of 18.3 hectares which includes gardens and a 19th century palace which currently works as a luxury hotel. The legend says that these gardens were the setting of the forbidden love story between the prince of Portugal D. Pedro and D.ª Inês de Castro.

The story of the legend between Pedro and Inês

Quinta das Lágrimas is famous for being the setting of one of the best-known Portuguese love stories. D. Pedro was the crown prince of the Portuguese throne and D.ª Inês de Castro was a Galician noblewoman, a lady-in-waiting to the prince's wife, Princess D.ª Constança. It was in the mid-14th century when D. Pedro and D.ª Inês gave in to passion and began to build a secret love story. They went against everything and everyone, defying the rules and social prejudices of the time. The two lovers used to go to the gardens of Quinta das Lágrimas to meet in secret. However, this relationship had everything to go wrong, and King Afonso IV eventually ordered D. Inês to be killed in 1355. The legend says that a fountain was created by the tears of D. Inês at the place where she was killed and that his blood stained the stones of that same fountain (the Fountain of Tears). Filled with anger at the death of his beloved, after assuming the throne of Portugal, D. Pedro ordered the arrest and death of the murderers, tearing out their hearts. In addition, swearing that he had secretly married D. Inês de Castro, D. Pedro imposed his recognition as queen of Portugal.

Mondego’s daughters long the memory stored
Of her, whose memory rests from death secure
For from the tears - the bitter tears they poured,
In sad remembrance rose a fountain pure,
There, where their love was breathed - their date deplored
And have the fame, that must for aye endure.
What flowers the turf - what Chrystal beauty wears
The fount, whose name is Love, whose water tears.

- Luís Vaz de Camões, Os Lusíadas

The gardens of Quinta das Lágrimas

Quinta das Lágrimas has vast landscaped grounds where exotic species predominate, some of them over 200 years old. It’s a place of mystery with a romantic atmosphere, embellished mainly by the two fountains associated with the story of Pedro and Inês: the Fountain of Loves and the Fountain of Tears. In addition, in the center of the garden there is a 19th century palace that currently works as a luxury hotel: the 5 star Quinta das Lágrimas hotel.

Getting there and parking

Quinta das Lágrimas is located on the left side of Mondego, in the parish of Santa Clara in Coimbra. I would say that the best way to get to Quinta das Lágrimas is by car and parking is very easy as there are several parking spaces on the street. The trip from the center of Coimbra to Quinta das Lágrimas is very fast as it takes about 8 minutes.

My experience

After parking the car, we entered Quinta das Lágrimas. We were the first to arrive since the gate that gave access to the gardens was still closed. We bought the tickets and we entered with the map in our hands, exploring the gardens and the various attractions. Fountain of Loves was immediately the first stop and its medieval wall. The legend says that this was where D.ª Inês came to get the letters sent by D. Pedro. Her beloved sent the messages through the water channel in wooden boats. For more than 650 years, the water from the Fountain of Loves has continued to flow to feed the garden and delight visitors. Then we have the Fountain of Tears where you can see a stone with a red stain (due to the algae) that the legend says is the blood of D.ª Inês. We walked around the gardens for about an hour and I would say that it’s the ideal time, as they are relatively small.

Have you ever visited the gardens of Quinta das Lágrimas where the forbidden love story between D. Pedro and D.ª Inês de Castro took place? If so, tell me everything in the comments of this post or on the blog's instagram. 🩷