What do you think when you think of a palace? Do you think about thrones and gems? How about brightly coloured facades and hilltop views? And hand-painted tiles and stone carved decor? Well, Sintra has all of this and more. Sintra is only a short trip from Lisbon and an easy day trip if you’re staying in the Portuguese capital. There’s a palace, castle ruins, forest walks and sweet treats, what more could you want? Stick around to start planning your day in Sintra!
Sintra is north-west of Lisbon, towards the Atlantic ocean. It’s inland and was a great vantage point for the armies in the Middle Ages given the hills. Sintra is a municipality of almost 380,000 people and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Portugal, from its numerous national parks, picturesque palace and royal history, it is easy to see why.
How to get there
Train
There are trains leaving every 30 minutes from Roma-Aeerio in Lisbon direct to Sintra for about €4 return each taking just under an hour. A train also leaves from Rossio in central Lisbon every 30 minutes which takes about an hour and you’ll need to change trains.
Car
If you’re making the trek yourself, it’ll take between 40 and 60 mins.
Bus
There aren’t any buses available to Sintra from Lisbon.
As a day trip, Sintra would probably be easiest from Lisbon. It’s about a three-hour drive from Porto, so achievable in a day but I’d suggest going for a more road trip style trip if you’ve got a car and drive down the coast, then pop into Sintra on the way from Porto to Lisbon.
Once you’re there
There are many different ways to get around in Sintra; hire bikes, motorbikes, walking, tourist buses, local buses and private transport. Tourist buses appeared to be one of the most popular choices. We choose walking, which took a lot longer but it was nice to walk up some more hills and to get amongst some nature.
Moorish Castle
The Castelo dos Mouros was established in the 9th century by North African Muslim Moors. Built atop a hill in Sintra it was a strategic point during the wars of Reconquista (the wars of the Iberian coast from 711 through 1491-ish). King Alfonso VI of Castile led the first Christian crusade and captured the castle in 1093, but he had limited men and equipment and was taken back over the next year.
After reclaiming their castle the Moors enhanced their fortifications and this was considered the high point of the castle’s history. However, the second Christian crusade in 1147 was much larger than the previous. Various sources report on this next part differently some say the castle was taken over by the Christian crusade, others say the Moors willingly surrendered. Either way, the army took it over after its siege on Lisbon, they built up the castle somewhat but the Royal Court preferred the Castle of Lisbon and the Castle of the Moors fell into disrepair.
In the mid 19th century, King Ferdinand II of Portugal took on the task of restoring the old castle and since then many groups have worked on various projects around the castle to restore, excavate and make it the tourist attraction it is today.
For entrance to this castle, it’ll cost you €8 for an adult, this allows you access to the castle and surrounding areas.
Pena Palace
The Pena Palace is a romanticist castle located on a hill slightly over from the Castelo dos Mouros in the Sintra mountains. It’s bold colours are original and the view from the hill is fantastic. This palace was originally a chapel, built in the Middle Ages. King Manuel I (who we’ve heard of before – check out Lisbon City Guide) was particularly fond of the chapel and had a monastery built atop the hill as well. So for many years, this was a meditative sanctuary for up to 18 monks under the Order of Saint Jerome.
Unfortunately, the castle was damaged by a lightning strike in the 18th Century and later more severely destroyed by the 1755 Great Lisbon Earthquake and the palace fell into disrepair. Eighty-odd years later in 1838, King Ferdinand II (the Prince Consort at the time) was saddened by the faded state of the palace and strived to repair it. The rebuilding was commissioned to Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege, a German architect, along with the King, he was inspired by medieval, Islamic and Bavarian styles to complete the design we see today. The palace was intended as a Royal Summer residence, sadly Queen Maria II, to whom the palace was dedicated to, died before it was completed. The castle was bought by the Portuguese state in 1889 and has become one of Portugal’s most visited sites. In 1995 it was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven wonders of Portugal.
Entrance costs about €14 and allows you access to the interior of the palace and the surrounding parks alternatively €7,50 can get you into the park area. The park surrounding the palace is 200 hectares of walking tracks, forest and plants, there are also some New Zealand ferns hidden away in the Queen’s Fern Garden. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to explore the Palace park too much aside from our walk up and down the hill.
It’s bright yellow and red facades are incredibly striking, there is magnificent stonework throughout the gated entry and balcony areas, azulejos (Moorish-inspired Portuguese tiles) add hand-painted detail and colour to the exterior. The Pena Palace almost instantly become one of my favourite castles. I loved the colours, the views, and how unique the facades were. It was busy but not too much. It is an unforgettable palace, and there’s no doubt I would go back given the opportunity.
What to eat
As you may have seen on my Lisbon City Guide post pastry pillows are a lovely sweet treat from Sintra township. Light and fluffy pastry encapsulating sweet eggs and almonds flavours, they are easy to find in most bakeries in Sintra.
Sintra and the Pena Palace were highly anticipated sights for our Portugal trip and in no way did they disappoint. As an easy and cheap day trip from Lisbon, it’s definitely worth accounting for another day’s accommodation in the city for a day trip to Sintra.
An awesome day trip with awesome friends. 10 out of 10 would recommend!
References:
Castle of the Moors – Portugal
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