The Portuguese Connection- Sintra

 

Just 40 minutes by train from Lisbon Rossio train station lies the town and suburbs of Sintra. Sintra is surprisingly the second most populated city in Portugal, but the old town is what most tourists come to discover. 

The train ticket is definitely very affordable, under 12 Euros return if I remember well. We were advised to not drive to Sintra as the traffic jams can be bad. A large part of the inner towns discourage and look down upon cars filled with tourists too. So, the best would be to get off at the Sintra train station and either be prepared for a tremendous amount of climbing and walking or use the local modes of transport. There are tuk tuks that can take a small group to all main sites for an hour or two. However, be ready to negotiate and don't accept the first offer you get. They take you all around and to the places of interest and you get a general feel of the hill station in the hour or two that you use the service. You can stop and take amazing photos outside the main tourist areas. 

There are many local guides who wait at the station when you get off, so be prepared for that as it can seem like a bit too much. To the immediate right as you get out of the train station there is a public bus that can take you up to the highest points of Sintra. If you really want to make a day trip to the place and have a lot of energy to visit each of the attractions, I suggest you try and book some of the entries into the places that risk to be full of tourists when you arrive. Also note that most of the attractions are expensive so read up before reaching there with a specific list of what you wish to see. 

https://www.sintra-portugal.com/guides/sintra-bus-434.html 

This bus will take you to all the main tourist spots in Sintra.

In this magical fairytale like hill station, where the royalty and rich from Lisbon used to come to enjoy cooler summers, you can find these main tourist attractions:-

The Town Hall in Manueline style

https://www.sintra-portugal.com/Attractions/Sintra-town-hall.html

The Sintra National Palace: This palace is impressive when viewed both from the main road and from the heights of Sintra as you can see the passage of time on the building. The Arab or Moorish influence in the centre of the palace, the Manueline style wing added on and the impressive chimneys of the kitchens that  were added at a later stage make for a most unique monument. The great earthquake of 1755 destroyed a part of the structure and this resulted in different styles coming together during its reconstruction.

                                                            

                                                  

     

Read more about the palace from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintra_National_Palace

This palace is close to the centre of the old town and near all the main restaurants and shops. 

You can enjoy the Almond pastry at the Piriquita shop not far from the palace.

The Pena Palace is the highlight of the day, but get to Sintra very early in the morning with online tickets booked if possible, to visit it.

https://www.sintra-portugal.com/Attractions/palacio-pena-palace-sintra.html

    

                                                

The Pena Palace Gardens are normally easier and cheaper to visit but the week we were there, the gardens were closed due to a storm that had hit the city.

                                                        

The Castle of the Moors

https://www.sintra-portugal.com/Attractions/Castle-Moors-Sintra.html

one wall at the entrance of the castle

    

                                                            

From the other side of the fort there are apparently very beautiful views of the Atlantic ocean

https://www.instagram.com/technologyhiker/p/DEpeWstvlEw/ 

Quinta da Regaleira (Gothic style manor)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinta_da_Regaleira

                                                

                                                    

                                                          

 

                                                                    

The Beister Palace Properties and gardens

https://visitsintra.travel/en/visit/monuments/biester-palace

You could opt for the free or inexpensive ways to see Sintra that are in the link below.

https://www.sintra-portugal.com/guides/sintra-free-inexpensive-cheap-low-cost.html

Or you could walk up to the Pena Palace 

https://www.sintra-portugal.com/guides/walk-to-palacio-pena-castelo-mouros-sintra.html#google_vignette

I add here several pretty places and views which cost us nothing as we walked around town.

Looking back I regret not having done some of the places I write about, but I think one needs about 2-3 days to cover all the main attractions of Sintra.

So, I definitely hope to return some day.

Views of from the outside of the National Palace 

General photos of the old town, streets, other houses and beautiful foliage 

    

                                                            

                                                            

                                                

                                                

                                                

    

                                                

                                                  

                    

                                                        

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 Alexandre was our Tuktuk driver who gave us a reasonable deal.

Like what you read?

Check out my travlblog on Lisbon here https://lekhawrites.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-portuguese-connection-lisbon.html

and on Belem, Portugal here https://lekhawrites.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-portuguese-connection-belem.html