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Located 45-minutes outside of Lisbon in what feels like a whole other more relaxed world, you’ll find the hilltop town of Sintra. Often called the “pastel-hued old town” and surrounded by misty forests, Sintra lured Portuguese royalty from Lisbon and around Europe, imparting a mystical, leisurely vibe that still lingers today.
While in Lisbon, a visit to nearby Sintra for its palaces and history is a worthy detour.
If you are looking for a relaxed way to visit and explore Sintra including Pena Palace, check out this day trip tour option. We participated on this small-group trip/tour on our recent visit to Sintra and highly recommend it!
After leaving the hustle and bustle of Lisbon behind, you’ll start to pass through dense forest and a surreal landscape of giant moss-covered boulders. You’ll see villages and estates on the cool, green slopes of the Serra de Sintra. These mountains are part of the only area in the world to be considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site for both cultural significance and natural beauty.
Begin your tour-de-force of Sintra with a glimpse of how Portugal’s last remaining aristocratic family lived at the Palácio Nacional da Pena or the Pena Palace for short. Open to the public Monday – Sunday, this brightly colored, bizarre palace served as the former summer retreat for Portuguese royalty. It was built in the 19th century for Queen Maria II’s creative husband, Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and took 45 years to complete. This spectacular place is perched on the highest peaks of the Serra Sintra and can easily be explored on foot. It was built to be a summer retreat and was filled with artifacts, furniture and oddities collected from all over the world. While exploring the palace you can wander into bedrooms including the bedroom of King Carlos which has its own water closet in the right corner! You can also see the main kitchen, a cloister built in 1511 and covered with 16th century Hispano-Moresque titles, great hall, the lovely Arab Room, and many other spaces that remain largely unchanged since the time the last Portuguese royal family lived here. There is also a chapel on site which was part of the palace that was the early 16th century monastery. The Manueline vaulted ribbed archways lined with tiles is a stunning site.
Images from left to right: Manueline Cloister, Bedroom of King Carlos, the Chapel
On the outside of the palace, you will see a wide variety of intricate sculpture and heavily adorned archways inspired by European Romanticism. The entire place is cloaked in mystery with strong religious undertones and references including clear nods to the Knights of Templar.
Pro Tip: During your visit to Pena Palace, be sure to enjoy the dramatic view over the top of the wooded Serra from the top of the Palace on the open-air terrace during your visit! You can also pick up a cappuccino, water or light snack at the fast-casual dining spot located by the terrace.
Experience More
While the colorful and fanciful Pena Palace gets a lot of attention (and rightfully so), additional travel-worthy spots await in Sintra. An unbelievable array of architectural styles can be found around Sintra. Seek out the Quinta da Regaleira Castle which has gardens and grounds riddled with secret passages and hidden tunnels. It was reclaimed by the local government in 1997 and opened to the public shortly thereafter. It is a bizarre place littered with religious references, occult symbols, and mystery. There is also a well here that is believed to have been used for the Knights of Templar initiation at one point.
The nearby Palácio Nacional de Sintra is a hidden highlight. It is Portugal’s oldest surviving palace dating back to the Middle Ages (estimated 14th century). Its glitzy Gothic architectural style is stunning and distinctive with conical chimneys and a unique exterior. As the oldest palace in all of Portugal, this site is a fascinating place to travel through Portugal’s history. Here’s a quick timeline of the palace which you can dive deeper into during a visit: the main part of the palace was built in the 14th century and was occupied by Moorish rulers. In 1147 Afonso Henriques took over the palace. In 1755, the year of the great earthquake in Lisbon, parts of the palace incurred damage. Finally, in 1910 the palace became a national monument.
Spend time in the old town of Sintra, a designated UNESCO Cultural Landscape Site since 1995. Weave in and out of the small shops which dot the cobblestone café-filled town square.
Idle over coffee and local specialties originating in Sintra like Travesseiros or “Pillow Cake” which is a puff pastry dusted with powered and filled with egg cream and almond, and Queijadas, cheese and cinnamon pastries in a thin crust. A great café to visit is Casa Piriquita which is located on a little walking street that winds its way uphill from Praca da Republica, not far from the National Palace. Their Travesseiros recipe remains a secret to this day!
Other Places of Interest in Serra De Sintra
If you have time and the ability to venture into other parts of the Serra de Sintra region, a great place to stop is Cabo da Roca. It offers spectacular ocean views along with a café and souvenir shop. The lighthouse on the cliff sits 140 feet high and marks the most westerly point of continental European. It is typically very windy at Cabo da Roca so be sure to wear warm clothes and sturdy clothes if you stop here.
Once a humble fishing village, Cascais (pronounced Cash-Caysh) located on the Portuguese coast, is now popular resort town and holiday destination.
Here you’ll find beautiful sand beaches like Praia da Riberia (the main beach in Cascais), Praia da Duquesa and Praia da Conceicao. Cascais is also home to impressive villas – both old and new. An interesting site is the Castro Guimaraes Museum, which was a private villa built to resemble a castle. Some say this museum is the oldest museum space in Portugal. It evokes Pena Palace vibes when you gaze up at it! Guided visits by appointment only are available and there is an entrance fee. Check out the museum website for more information. You can travel to Cascais from Lisbon by train from the Cais do Sodre stop just outside Lisbon’s wildly popular Time Out Market. Cascais is also only a short 25-minute drive from Cabo da Roca, in case you’re traveling by car or have a rental car. Be sure to visit the main city center or historic quarter for excellent shopping and dining options – you’ll find top-notch seafood restaurants here.
Getting to Sintra
Sintra is very accessible from Lisbon, located about 45-minutes outside the city. You can travel here for a day trip (or longer stay) by public metro/train, car or via a small group tour like this one that includes transportation and additional stopping-off-points on your return to Lisbon like Cabo da Roca.
Escaping to Sintra with its cooler microclimate, ornate palaces and charming old town makes for a very memorable day trip from Lisbon. There is no shortage of historical and fascinating places to explore and marvel at while in this mystical part of Portugal. Let us know if you agree or if Sintra is a place you would like to one day visit, in the comments below!
~ Justin and Alyssa
Thanks for sharing! I’ve always wanted to visit Sintra. Now I want to go even more so I can sample some of these Portuguese pastries! 🙂
My husband’s fav part of our Sintra exploration was the pastries! They are delicious and very fresh!
I’ve been to Lisbon but never made it to Sintra. I have family moving to Portugal, so who knows, might make it one day.
Very cool you have family moving to Portugal! Sintra is a short distance from Lisbon and a lovely day trip. Hopefully if you find yourself near it you’ll be able to spend some time there. It is a very unique place.
Great tour of the lovely city of Sintra, just a hop, skip and a jump as you wrote from Lisbon! We loved our escape to the charming town and also recommend a day there. I loved the variety of architectural styles and lovely leather items so typical of Portugal. Thanks for bringing back fun memories!
I love that this post was able to bring back fun memories for you! A day in Sintra provides a nice respite from the city and there was so much to take in especially from a historical and architectural perspective. The shopping was nice too 🙂