Top 3 Must See Sites in Sintra:

For most tourists, a vacation in Lisbon is not complete without a day trip to Sintra. This fairytale town is about 15 miles from the capital and can be reached in a little less than an hour by train.

Why take the time to visit Sintra? In a nutshell, it is beautiful. The town sits just off the Atlantic Ocean atop the Sintra Mountains. Its close proximity to the coast produced cooler temperatures which prompted many royals and wealthy families to build their castles here over the centuries. In fact, there are so many unique places in Sintra that the whole town was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For us, visiting this idyllic town was a refreshing change of pace from the bustling city life in Lisbon. Below are our three “must-visit” sites in Sintra.

Moorish Castle:

It was an overcast, rainy, November day the morning we arrived in Sintra. We departed the train station and decided to make our way up the hill to the Moorish Castle on foot instead of hiring one of the numerous tuk-tuks available. The hike was strenuous and took longer than we expected, but the view from the top of the hill was worth it!

This castle was built during the Moorish occupation of Portugal, hence the name, and served as a lookout post high above the town. As we walked around the outer walls of the castle, we tried to imagine how a guard would have felt as he manned his post – very cold in the winter, we concluded!

Pena Palace:

Our next stop was the Pena Palace. This castle was located on a hilltop adjacent to the Moorish Castle. It’s vibrant colors stood out impressively against the bleak backdrop of gray clouds.

This palace, in terms of architecture and painted hues, was straight out of a Disney Princess fairytale. It was difficult to believe this place was actually real.

Few tourists were with us, making it easy to explore the palace’s hidden nooks and crannies. The timing of our visit proved fortuitous. We got to explore the palace’s exterior for about thirty minutes before a thick blanket of clouds rolled in and obscured the views from the hilltop. The fog was so thick we couldn’t even see ten feet in front of us.

We headed inside and were pleasantly surprised to find that the palace’s interior had been left exactly as the last owner had decorated it giving us a rare glimpse into the life of modern royalty.

Quinta da Regaleira

Our final stop of the day was the Quinta da Regaleira, a former private residence turned into a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the center of Sintra.

This expansive property contained an assortment of unique things to see including the main palace, a small but ornate chapel, a series of underground grottos and waterfalls, and the Initiation Well.

The property was quite large, and we didn’t have time to explore it all. We would recommend setting aside at least two hours to make the most of your visit.

We found that Sintra undoubtedly deserves its reputation as one of Portugal’s most popular tourist destinations. There is a plethora of activities to entertain tourists of all ages, and its close proximity to Lisbon makes a visit a no brainer.

-Annie, Your Friend at Orange Backpack Travel