Sintra, Portugal
When: June 2018
Duration: 2 nights/2 days
Weather: Rain, overcast. Cool temperatures.
Currency: Euro (€)
Price Range: $$$
Overview
Sintra is really close to Lisbon and most blogs suggest Sintra as a day trip. After looking up things to do in Sintra, I realized we would need more than one day to see it all, so we booked two nights in a B&B. If you only have a day, then you make the best of it, but Sintra has a ton of palaces and castles that I really wanted to see, which is why we made it two days.
We rented a car from Lisbon and I would not recommend going this route. The roads in Sintra are narrow and winding and some of the turns require a 3-point turn. You can take the train from Lisbon into Sintra, so that is what I would do next time. The car was just not fun.
Itinerary
Pena Palace
Pena Palace is usually the most recommended palace in Sintra. It is just down the way from the Moorish castle, so it makes sense to do both back to back. It is colourful and looks really impressive on the outside, but I found the inside pretty boring and it was super crowded. You can walk up the long winding path to the top, or take a shuttle for €3. We took the shuttle because we didn’t want to waste time walking and our feet were already getting sore from multiple days of walking. We spent more than an hour here.
Recommend: Yes
Moorish Castle
This castle is on the top of a mountain. It’s not what you think a castle would be, but rather the perimeter of the castle that you can walk along. It’s a huge and there’s lots of stairs. This was one of my favourite places I’ve visited. We spent over an hour here.
Recommend: Yes
Quinta da Regaleira
Another palace, but you don’t visit Quinta da Regaleira for the palace, you visit it for the park that surrounds it. The park is filled with wonders: lakes, grottoes, wells, fountains, tunnels, caves, etc. The main attraction is the Initiation Well, which is a spiral staircase down a well (as pictured). At the bottom of the well, there are tunnels that lead to a “walk on water” spot – stones that are strategically placed in a small pond. I could have spent well over 2 hours here, but this was our last stop of the day and we ran out of time. I recommend doing this early in the day so you can spend as much time as you want.
Recommend: Absolutely! I would go back to Sintra just for the purpose of visiting Quinta da Regaleira again!
Convent of the Capuchos
Ruins of an old pious community consisting of very small, cramped rooms. It’s half way up the mountain in a fairly secluded area in the forest. There were very few other tourists here so we had a great time enjoying the silence and checking out this hidden treasure. We spent about an hour here, but you could definitely see this in much less time.
Recommend: Yes
Cabo de Roca
This is the most western part of mainland Portugal. The coast is full of beautiful cliffs and if you drive a little further north (and probably south), you’ll see some signs for beaches (Praia = beach in Portuguese). I did have a beach on my list, but we didn’t make it due to time and the weather not cooperating.
Recommend: Sure, but if you are visiting the Algarve, you could skip it as the Algarve is nicer looking.
Park & Palace of Monserrate
Yet another palace in the Sintra region. This one was not high on our list, but since we bought tickets in advance, we had to stop here. To our surprise, this palace was actually very impressive. It was under renovations when we visited, but the interior was a sight to behold. The architecture is beautiful and the walls and ceilings have intricate carvings. The surrounding “park” (more like forest) is also beautiful and it’s worth spending some time wandering around. They even have a nice tea café onsite. We spent more than an hour here, but that includes our tea time.
Recommend: Yes
Queluz Palace
This is not actually in Sintra, but in between Lisbon and Sintra. It’s a fairly ordinary palace.
Recommend: No
Tips
- As mentioned in the overview, I recommend not driving in Sintra. While I didn’t take any cabs/tuk-tuks, so I can’t comment on the price, I would imagine they are cheaper than renting a car and Portugal is generally cheap.
- Most of the palaces are part of the Parks of Sintra “company” and if you buy multiples, then you save money. We bought Queluz, Monsterrate, Pena, and Moorish at once to save. We should have swapped Queluz for Capuchos, but oh well. Live and learn!
Accommodations:
Casa do Valle and Casa da Vista
- Small hotel with a B&B feel.
- Rooms were nice, spacious, and clean.
- Nice yard and view
- Breakfast was pretty good, with excellent presentation.
- Owners were very friendly and helpful.
Recommend: Yes