The Ajuda National Palace was declared a National Monument by the Decree of 16 June 1910. During the first decades of the republican regime, it depended on the Treasury, remaining the venue for official ceremonies and receiving visitors authorised by the Treasury.

The Ajuda National Palace building is not just the former royal residence. The north wing of the palace houses the Ajuda Library (formerly the royal library), the King Luís I Painting Gallery (designed to display the sovereign's private painting collection and currently under the direct management of the DGPC) and the Secretariat of State for Culture. The fourth floor of the south wing houses the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage.

A dignified setting for protocolary ceremonies of state representation, the Ajuda Palace has always performed this function from the earliest times to the present day. It is in this capacity that the Ajuda National Palace continues to lend its lustre to the ceremonies of the Presidency of the Republic, as well as being one of the most important decorative arts museums in the country.

The Palace's visitable space includes two floors: the Ground Floor, where many of the private rooms are located, and the Noble Floor, where gala receptions were held.

The ground floor begins with a sequence of four rooms in which, due to the official and private functions for which they were intended, a certain apparatus was maintained, with the tapestries and allegorical paintings on the ceilings, remnants of the decoration from the early 19th century, contributing to this effect. From the Music Room and along the west façade, the ground floor was used for personal quarters. New rooms were added: A living room - the Blue Room, the Dining Room for the family's daily meals, and leisure areas such as the Marble Room and the Billiards Room; finally, the bathrooms equipped with hot and cold running water.

The noble floor of the palace was dedicated to gala receptions. On this floor you'll find the Diplomatic Corps Room, the Throne Room, the D. João VI Room - where balls were held -, the Grand Dinner Room - where banquets were held - among other official reception rooms. Of private interest are the Painting Atelier, the Library and the King's Bedchamber, created in the last year of Luís' life, in 1888, on medical advice.

The second part of our event will be a walk over a distance of approximately 8 kilometres.