Only a 40-minute train ride away from the centre of Lisbon, going to the town
of Sintra is one of the most popular day trips to take if you're visiting Lisbon.
Sintra is surrounded by the beautiful landscape of the Sintra mountains and is known for its
historic palaces and castles, charming streets, and more. After a quick breakfast at a cafe
outside Sintra's train station, I headed for my first stop of the day by getting on the 434
bus. This bus takes a loop up the steep hill to reach Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle.
Half an hour later I get off at the stop for Pena Palace.
One of the seven wonders of Portugal, the palace's bright and colourful facades were a major draw for
me as I had never seen anything like it. While the history of the palace dates back to the
Middle Ages, the palace as we see it now was commissioned by King Ferdinand and completed
in 1854. It then served as a residence for the Portuguese royal family before
being turned into a museum after the Republican revolution of 1910. This was where Queen Amélia,
the last queen consort of Portugal, spent her last night before going into exile.
My next stop was the Moorish Castle, which is a short walk over from Pena
Palace. It was founded under Islamic rule in the 8th and 9th centuries,
so this place is incredibly old. The Moors inhabited this area until 1147, during the siege
of Lisbon when Christian Crusaders conquered Lisbon and brought it under Portuguese rule.
Visiting the castle and its fortifications does require quite a bit of stair-climbing,
some of it uneven, narrow, and without something to hold on to; but certainly
it was worth it it's such a cool historical place to be and the views are great as well.
After my visit,
it was time for lunch and I decided to head back into the historic centre by walking.
Since it was downhill and in the shade of the beautiful park, it was quite a pleasant stroll.
I got an excellent table on the patio of Tascantiga, a place that serves petiscos,
which might be best described as Portuguese tapas.
I got the green soup, the Azeitão cheese with ham and fig inside,
and the octopus blades, all with a glass of sangria. Everything was fantastic.
In the afternoon, I went to Quinta de Regaleira. A quinta is a Portuguese traditional word for
an estate. Created by a Brazilian-Portuguese businessman and completed in 1910, it really
isn't what I would imagine when I think of the word "estate". It felt more like something out of
a fairy tale. The first thing I did upon arriving was to head straight for the initiation well,
probably the most famous attraction in the Quinta. The initiation well was not used for
water but perhaps for ceremonial purposes. It's all very mysterious and not very clear.
The bottom of the well leads into a series of tunnels.
The quinta covers a very large area and with its towers, labyrinths, caves,
fountains, a chapel, and a palace, you could easily spend quite a bit of time getting
lost in here. I know I definitely did not manage to see everything.
Finally, I headed back into the historic centre.
It was getting to be the late afternoon and the place was buzzing.
I debated on whether or not I should visit the National Palace of Sintra as it was right there,
and in the end, I'm glad I decided to go. Going in at 5 PM meant that hardly anyone
else was there. And I actually found the interiors in this palace more interesting
than that of Pena Palace. This palace was actually inhabited during Moorish rule,
though nothing built during that time period now survives. The decoration and
design of what we see now does apparently take inspiration from its Moorish history.
My day in Sintra is coming to an end, but not before visiting Casa Piriquita,
a well-known bakery in Sintra. Here I picked up some famous Sintra pastries to go.
Stay tuned for my next video where I arrive in the small but stunning country of Montenegro.