evidence: Morning – Vila Réal and the Mateus Palace Tour (4 hours) [...] VILA RÉAL and THE MATEUS PALACE Visit Vila Réal, a small, hilly town with a great variety of religious buildings and architecture, founded in 1289 by King Denis of Portugal. Visit the Mateus Palace, built in the 18th century and set in beautiful gardens on a vast farm and considered to be one of the finest examples of Baroque civil architecture in Portugal.