Sintra

Sintra sits 28km west of Lisbon in the forested hills of the Serra de Sintra, reachable in about 40 minutes on the CP commuter train from Rossio station, which runs every 20 minutes and costs roughly €2.30 each way. Drivers can take the A37/IC19 in about 35 minutes, though parking in the village fills quickly in summer. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site built around a cluster of 19th-century Romantic palaces and older Moorish ruins set among misty hillside gardens. The colourful Pena Palace, perched on a peak above the town, is the headline stop, with its terraces offering views toward the Atlantic. The Moorish Castle walls nearby involve steep, uneven stone steps and reward an early visit before coach groups arrive. In the town centre, the National Palace of Sintra is recognisable by its twin conical chimneys, while Quinta da Regaleira, with its symbolic Initiation Well and grottoes, is a short walk further out. A typical day starts with an early train to beat the crowds, a morning at Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle, then a midday descent into town for lunch and a visit to the National Palace or Quinta da Regaleira in the afternoon. Local bakeries in the historic centre sell travesseiros and queijadas, Sintra's traditional pastries, and are worth a stop between sights. Because the palaces are spread across the hillside, most visitors rely on the local 434 or 435 tuk-tuk-style bus routes rather than walking the full circuit. Spring (March–June) and early autumn (September–October) bring milder temperatures and thinner crowds than the peak of summer, when August queues at Pena Palace can exceed an hour. Arriving on the first train of the day, generally before 9am, is the most reliable way to see the main palaces without the worst of the crowds.