The Abbey of Santa Maria de Alcobaça, is the finest example of Cistercian architecture in Christian Europe. In the course of time, to meet the needs for seclusion, wings were added, but these, for aesthetic reasons, in the then modern architectural style. The façade of this great monument measures no less than 221 meters and consists of three distinct bodies : North wing, Church and South Wing. As a result of the alterations during the 17th and 18th Centuries, the north wing comprised de quarters of the Royal family and illustrious guests, the Hall of Conclusion and other dependencies. In the south wing, built after the 1755 earthquake, was the apartments of the Triennial Abbots and the College of Nossa Senhora da Conceição.
