What do you do when you wake up in Lisbon and find out you have an extra day to spend there? You hop on a train and go to Sintra!
Sintra, one of the most popular and photographed destinations in Portugal is well worth the visit! You will remember this journey as walking in a fairytale! There are many tour companies and transportation options for this trip, however it’s perfectly fine doing on your own. I took the train and found it super easy and cheap .
Getting there: There are two train lines going from Lisbon to Sintra: Oriente-Sintra, and Rossio-Sintra. Both are urban routs, which means they make multiple stops through Lisbon so you can catch the train from a stop convenient or closer to your hotel, rather than going to a major train station. The schedule is approximately every half hour, so €5 round trip, and about 35-45 minutes later you’ll be in Sintra.
If you spend one day there you can say you’ve been to Sintra, what you shouldn’t say is that you’ve seen it. If you want to visit more than just couple of the castles without rushing, you should plan on spending two or more days. As a matter of fact rushing, because of the terrain, is almost impossible in Sintra. Located only about 25 km /15 mi west of Lisbon it’s built on hills and walking thru the town is almost never on a flat ground. The two things you need in Sintra are comfortable shoes and strong legs! For the 11.3 mi (and according to my iPhone’s health app 126 climbed flights!) I was able to visit 2 of the most popular destinations :Palacio da Pena and Moores castle (they are really close to each other), and passed thru the gardens of Vila Sassetti on my way back to town. Both castles are built on the highest hills in the surrounding area, so getting to them could be a challenge. There’s is a convenient hop on hop off bus # 434 which runs in a loop thru the historic centre and up to the most famous attractions and costs €6.50. Your private transportation options are a taxi (faster) or Tuk Tuk (open air and more scenic) for €5 per person. If you are curious and ambitious like me though (ha!) or if you like hiking, you can walk.
The Medieval walls of the Moors castle are well maintained. Walking on centuries and centuries of history is awe inspiring , but little frightening because of the narrow rim of the wall and high winds (always!).
The view to the town, valley and nearby Peña Castle is impressive though!
The entrance to Palacio da Peña is a short (200m) walk away. If you have ever seen pictures from Sintra, this is what you’ve seen: the terrace with yellow arched windows and amazing views as far as the ocean, the brightly colored red, yellow and light blue tailed buildings, the ornate gates, and the beautiful lush green gardens!
The town of Sintra itself is a charming touristy place with nice little restaurants tucked in narrow winding streets or steep stairs, cute little stores and a lot to see. Other than Peña Palace and the Castle of the Moors , it’s the home to Quinta da Regaleira, Monseratte Palace, Sintra Palace, Park Liberdade, Seteais Palace and a long list of other beautiful places worth exploring, as well as amazing hiking! After spending a day there, I’m keeping it on my list of future travels and would happily return for more adventures!
Visitors tips:
1. I didn’t buy tickets ahead of time for either castle, the lines early afternoon at the end of June were not really long. If you are visiting in the high of the touristy season though you may want to show up with a ticket. Keep in mind the tickets for the buildings of Peña Palace are for a particular time slot (for the actual castle, not for the gardens, so give yourself enough time to get there.
2. Both castles close rather early, 6:30pm for Moors Castle and 7pm for Peña Palace, and the last admissions are an hour before that. Plan for an hour at Moors Castle and at least 2 hrs for Peña (not enough if you want to explore the gardens).
3. Because of the higher elevation, the temperature is always few degrees lower in Sintra and it’s super windy all year round. Bring a light windbreaker or sweater, you may need it.
4. Did I mention it’s super windy up on the hills of Sintra? Ladies, be warned and plan your outfit accordingly, flowy dresses or skirts will be quite a challenge. If you brought something form hugging, Sintra is the place to wear it (not so much in town, but up in Peña and Moors for sure!). Also, don’t forget to bring a hair clip or tie if you want to have at least one good picture, the wind up in the castles is not picture friendly.
5. You’ll be walking a lot even if you take the bus, so bring a water bottle and maybe a snack.
6. My mom used to say “In vain is the world so big if the shoes are too tight!”. I can’t stress this enough: comfortable shoes!
7. If you like taking pictures, bring an external battery- this is, after all, one of the most photographed places in Portugal, you’ll be bummed not having a camera in a place like this!
Note: To enhance your experience read more interesting facts and observations under each picture. And as always, follow me for more adventures!