While not actually in Lisbon, Sintra is often mentioned as an essential day out for any trip to Lisbon and with good reason too. Nestled in the verdant Sintra Mountains, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site with everything from a Moorish castle built in the 8th century to sublime examples of uniquely Portuguese Romantic architecture like the Pena Palace and the Quinta da Regaleira with its world-famous staircase, all with stunning views of the surrounding mountains and settlements.
With the way that people often talk about visiting Sintra, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’d be like a trip to Cascais or Setubal, where everything is relatively close together. Sintra is a different story and if you are planning on walking it, come prepared; the Pena Palace, Castle of the Moors, Quinta da Regaleira and historic centre are all pretty spread out. For this reason, many people pay for tours around Sintra or Sintra and Cascais leaving from Lisbon. However, if you wanted to find your own way there and don’t want to hike up mountains with cars zooming past you, don’t worry, the very reasonable tuk-tuks make this a breeze.
Getting There
As mentioned earlier, there are tours that will take you around Sintra for reasonable prices that tend to include the price of entry to the Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira. If you did want to get the train, head over to Rossio Station, right by Rossio Square in the centre of Lisbon. There’s public transport that’ll take you here, but it’s very walkable. If you have a Zapping ticket (highly recommended as they can be used on trams, ferries, trains, the metro and buses), all you have to do is scan it by the gates and walk through. If you don’t, you’ll have to purchase a ticket. You’ll want to look out for the Sintra line – they leave fairly regularly. It can be a little busy, but the 45-minute long train journey is very pleasant, and you can even see the Aqueduto das Águas Livres on the way. Get off at the last stop and scan your ticket to leave.
Central Sintra
Once in Sintra itself, you’ll probably notice the tuk-tuks and taxis waiting by the train station taxi rank. These are a great way of getting around cheaply and – relatively – comfortably in Sintra. If you’re in okay shape, it’s not hard to walk from the train station to the historic centre or the Quinta da Regaleira, but it’s highly recommended for getting to Pena Palace and the Castle of the Moors, which are pretty far away. If you felt like getting something to eat, there’s a great place called Metamorphosis on the other side of the station that does very reasonably priced Portuguese cuisine.
First up, head to the Palace of Sintra, right by the historic centre. It’s a beautiful area to wander around and take in the views, while the palace itself is the best-preserved Portuguese medieval royal residence. From here, it’s not too far to walk to the Quinta da Regaleira.
Quinta da Regaleira
This beautiful romantic estate – originally owned by a family of wealthy merchants from Porto – is home to a spell-binding array of lakes, grottoes, wells, fountains and a remarkable palace. Entry is 6 EUR and it is open in summer from 09:30-20:00 (but last entry might be 19:00). The queues here can be long, but once in, take in the exquisite palace and chapel while walking through the park. Also, be sure to visit the Initiation Well (there are in fact two, but you can only go in one), arguably one of the most famous sights in Portugal. It can, however, be busy inside the well, and it can get very dark in the grottoes, so it is not recommended for people who get claustrophobic or have a fear of the dark. Mind your heads tall folk.
Pena Palace
If you go anywhere in Sintra go here. This 19th-century Romantic wonder is uniquely striking, with its intricate details almost as impressive as its alien structure and unrivalled views (you can see the Castle of the Moors from here too). You can walk, but it’s highly recommended to take a tuk-tuk for around 5 EUR. The tuk-tuk journey in itself is fun and if you’re lucky, the driver will point out local landmarks.
Once you’re there, entry to the grounds and terraces is 7.50 EUR. It’s open in the summer from 09:30-20:00 but last entry might be 19:00. You can pay 14 EUR to see inside the palace, but most people don’t - you can still walk around the outside of the palace with the regular ticket. You just can’t go inside it. It can get quite steep in the park, but there is public transportation within the park itself – as well as places to sit down and enjoy a coffee. If you’ve got a head for heights, make sure to walk all around the periphery of the palace – the views are simply fantastic.
Other Things to Do
Being such a big place, there’s plenty more to see – we just didn’t get time to. The Castle of the Moors and Monserrate Palace also looked very interesting and didn’t seem too hard to get to by tuk-tuk.
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