Sintra is a popular day trip from Lisbon because of the cute downtown, the five palaces nearby, the panoramic scenery, and the easy rail connections. Since we have a car, we decided to take the 30-minute drive to Sintra from Lisbon and pick up a tour from there. An hour-long train ride from Lisbon is not a bad alternative.
Our Tour Group
We had signed up for an 8 hour Airbnb experience. While it was a long day, we did manage to cover a lot of places and I never felt rushed. In a few spots, Freddy (Frederico) held our place in line while we continued to explore.
There were four of us plus Freddy (our driver/guide) in a modest-sized Mazda van, but I called shotgun and was never squished. Diana didn’t complain much about the back seat, so I guess it was tolerable. The other guests were a Bulgarian couple who shared the numerous ways Bulgaria was better than Romania. Now we know.
The Village
Our tour started in the village of Sintra, which has postcard good looks. The town hall has a striking clock tower which easily marks the center of town. The narrow and pitched pedestrian streets are studded with cute shops, bakeries, and other tourist traps. I even saw a silhouette of the iconic town palace in tile. After exploring on our own for a while, Freddy treated us to coffee and the local pastry at Piriquita.
The pastries of Piriquita, called Travesseiros, are famous all over Portugal, and people cue up to buy them to take home by boxes. These long, sugar-coated ‘pillows’ are best still warm, and they are freshly made all through the day. The outside is a flaky shell, inside is filled with a mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and almond paste.
Five Palaces in One Day?
We could only cover so much in one day. If Crowded House struggled with Four Seasons in One Day, five palaces were too much to take on. So, some places we visited without going in. More to cover on another visit, I guess.
The National Palace of Sintra dates back to the 10th century and was used by royalty as a hunting lodge and summer retreat from Lisbon as well as a place to escape the plague. Its iconic features are the massive dual chimneys just for the kitchen. Starting in 1287, the queens would get all income and taxes from the palace and surrounding lands. The income made them quite wealthy. It’s good to be the queen.
Dating back to the 8th century, the Castle of The Moors is an imposing presence over the Sintra area. Interestingly, Jews were the last occupants of the chapel within the Moorish castle until they were expelled in 1496. The castle walls have been restored several times since the devastating 1755 Lisbon earthquake, but the only other “structure” is the chapel ruins, so we skipped it.
We also did a drive by of Monserrate Palace, but it is now just a blur to me. The only thing I remember was that Lord Byron slept there. I’m willing to leave it a that.
Quinta da Regaleira
I had trouble wrapping my mind around Quinta da Regaleira, the first palace we entered on our tour. The ten-acre estate is an odd collection of things, reminding me a bit of Hearst Castle in California. I had visions of days-long bacchanals, but no evidence of such.
The estate was originally developed beginning in 1840 as a palatial summer house and chapel. Carvalho Monteiro, a Brazilian coffee and gem magnate, acquired it at auction in 1892. He was eager to build a place where he could collect symbols that reflected his interests and ideologies, including alchemy. The architecture evokes Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, and Manueline styles.
We spent about two hours going through the grounds and buildings. The main palace has some very striking ornamentation. There is a terra-formed swimming grotto, now frequented by waterfowl. The “piece de la resistance” is the 27-meter Initiation Well, which is linked to a tunnel network. After waiting in line to enter, we walked all the way down many circular stairs to the bottom of the well. Then we had to negotiate some wet tunnels to finally exit the complex. It could have possibly been for mystic Tarot initiation, other potential references may be to Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, or Knights Templar rituals. Even seeing isn’t really believing, further it is hard to imagine that people actually got down the stairs and through the tunnels in pitch blackness.
The Coast and the Forest
After the bewildering Regaleira, we headed to the coast for some beach scenery and lunch. The coastline was like much of the rest of Portugal, i.e. mostly hills punctuated with the occasional sandy beaches. Along the way, we stopped at the lighthouse on Cabo da Roca, which is the westernmost point of continental Europe. We took a refreshing walk and stared west for a while, then we went off to lunch.
Our beachside lunch was nice if a bit breezy. The place was packed. Freddy had a reservation, otherwise, it would have been tough to get a table. Diana seemed particularly interested by Freddy’s lunch selection of a plate of grilled sardines, which are much larger than what we call sardines in the US. Clearly, another kettle of fish altogether.
Post repast, we drove back to our final castle through Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. Covering 36,000 acres, the forested park afforded a pleasant, winding ascent on a one-way road. We could see many people stopped for picnics or hiking along the way. Given the size, it wouldn’t be too difficult to find some space for a little commune with nature.
Pena Palace
Our final palace was the Palácio Nacional da Pena, built by King Ferdinand II to convince the people he was one of them since he married into the Portuguese royal family. Striking colors and sweeping views are the rewards for getting here. Ferdinand, late of Coburg for you Victoria fans, purchased a disused monastery on the site in 1836, shortly after his marriage to Queen Maria II.
Being an artist and collector, he set about creating a palace he felt could show his newly adopted land how much he embraced and esteemed Portugal. The result is a palace of multiple sections painted in vibrant colors. The views are panoramic. It is especially nice near dusk when the light is striking and the crowded buses have left.
Cascais
After finishing up the Pena Palace fairly late in the day, our final stop was the coastal town of Cascais. The tour typically ends in Cascais and so it did for the Bulgarian couple. They got off and planned to wander around town and have a bite to eat before catching a train back to Lisbon.
We were curious to see Cascais because a few of the expats we follow on social media have spent time here, so it clearly had some draw to it. What we found was a pleasant, well-heeled beach town within a short train ride of Lisbon. I can see the appeal. A quick drive-by told us everything we needed to know, so we just cruised back to Sintra with Freddy to end our tour where we left the car.
More Horse Play
Something not part of our tour but worth mentioning for those of you who enjoyed the Horses in Jerez article, Sintra is home to the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art. You can visit the academy and watch similar shows to what we saw in Jerez, although probably not with similar withering heat. I added that to the list for our next visit to Sintra.
Which castle sounds like home to you?
