Sintra is a hill town of royal palaces and overgrown gardens in the Serra de Sintra, where nineteenth-century monarchs and nobles built fantastical retreats away from the summer heat of Lisbon. The result is a cluster of UNESCO-listed sites within a few kilometres of each other, ranging from the candy-colored Romanticist Pena Palace to the older Moorish Castle ruins along the ridge. It is worth a full day because the sites are spread across steep, forested hills and each one takes longer to see than expected; trying to fit in more than three in a day usually means rushing all of them.
| Distance | 28 km from Lisbon |
|---|---|
| Travel time | 40 minutes by train |
| Getting there | CP Train from Rossio station; €2.30 ($2.50) each way; trains every 15–20 min |
| Address | Sintra town centre: Praça da República, 2710-616 Sintra |
How to get there
- Mode
- Train (CP)
- Cost
- €2.30 ($2.50) each way
- Frequency
- Every 15–20 min from Rossio; journey 40 min
- Mode
- Car
- Cost
- Fuel only; parking in Sintra €2–€5 ($2.15–$5.40)/hour
- Notes
- Avoid driving to Pena Palace directly — take Bus 434 from Sintra station
Location
Sintra town centre: Praça da República, 2710-616 Sintra
38.7976, -9.3899 View on map
Highlights
- Pena Palace - the hilltop Romanticist palace with clashing yellow and red facades, commissioned by King Ferdinand II; the terraces give the best views over the Sintra hills to the Atlantic
- Quinta da Regaleira - a Gothic Revival estate with a symbolic garden built around a spiral underground tower (the Initiatic Well) linked by tunnels and grottoes
- Moorish Castle - the ninth-century fortification walls that run along the ridge above town, with long stretches you can walk for views back toward Pena Palace
- Sintra National Palace (Palácio Nacional de Sintra) - the palace in the town centre itself, easy to combine with lunch since it sits right on the main square, known for its twin conical chimneys
- Monserrate Palace - a quieter Moorish Revival palace set in an arboretum, usually far less crowded than Pena on the same afternoon