This delightful, unusual retreat next to the museum is the garden of the bishop's palace, a baroque whimsy of clipped box hedges and little granite statues representing virtues, seasons, kings, saints, months and continents among other things. Notice that the statues of Portugal’s Spanish-born kings Felipe I and II are smaller than those of the Portuguese monarchs.
At the bottom of the kings’ stairway, there’s a hidden, clap-activated fountain, sadly out of order at the time of research. It was built by a loutish 18th-century bishop who liked to surprise maidens by soaking their petticoats. Ask the attendant if it’s back in operation.
