What's up guys, we're here in Sintra and in this video we're going to show you how to do
a day trip here all the way from Lisbon. So we'll show you how to get here as well
as the best things to see once you are here in Sintra. So we hope you enjoy this video!
We are Zac and Ine, full-time digital nomads from the United States and Belgium.
We met while studying abroad in 2018 and have been traveling the world together ever since.
We're here to inspire your next adventure, whether it's hiking in the Canadian Rockies,
a road trip through the US, or backpacking across Africa. On our channel, you'll find
unfiltered videos of hiking guides and the best things to do in destinations around the world.
The picturesque town of Sintra is located 30 kilometers to the west of Lisbon in the center
of Portugal. Home to ancient castles, extravagant palaces, and beautiful natural scenery,
Sintra is an absolute must-visit. In this video, we'll show you how to visit Sintra
as a day trip from Lisbon. Including how to get there and the highlights that you can't miss.
The cheapest way to get to Sintra is by train. The train leaves from the Rossio train station
in downtown Lisbon once or twice per hour. It takes about 45 minutes to get to Sintra.
We took the train at 9:00 AM, which allowed us enough time to visit the three main highlights.
It's best to leave as early as possible, however, the castles only open their doors at 10 AM. And
once you arrive at the train station, you'll have many options to move around the town.
You can either take a bus, a taxi, tuk-tuk, or walk.
Now, let's get into the first stop on your day trip to Sintra.
Sitting at the outskirts of Sintra's historic center, the Quinta da Regaleira is easily walkable
from the train station. It takes about 30 minutes to walk there and you have nice views of the town
center, flowers, and the Sintra National Palace on the way. Quinta da Regaleira was mainly designed
by the Italian architect Luigi Manini in the late 1800s, and is a shockingly beautiful estate.
You can walk around a romantic palace, a chapel, and a lush park that features the famous Initiatic
Well as well as grottos and towers. We found the gardens especially peaceful. We recommend visiting
this spot first because it's less touristic and you'll find fewer crowds here during the morning.
So this is the first stop of our day here at the Quinta da Regaleira and it's amazing. Like,
it's really big actually because there's a whole garden, a lot of greenery, flowers,
birds everywhere, and there's as well as the palace of course or the mansion.
And yeah, so it definitely took a few hours to explore this area.
Located on a high rocky mountain above the town, the Moorish castle is a spectacular
site. To get here, we walked back to the train station and then caught the 434 bus.
With this bus ticket you can hop on and off as you please for the day.
Alternatively, you can also take a tuk-tuk or a taxi from the center, which will save you more
time at the ruins. The fortification itself was built in the 10th century during the time the
Moors occupied the area. Its strategic position helped defend both the surrounding territory
and the maritime access routes to the city of Lisbon. It's fun to walk on the castle walls
and take in the unique views over the town as well as the Atlantic Ocean.
For your last main stop of the day, we recommend the famous Pena Palace and Park. It's only a
15-minute walk from the Moorish Castle and is less crowded at the end of the day. This is the
most famous attraction in all of Sintra for a good reason. The palace stands in a 200 hectare park,
filled with colorful flowers, small ponds, and beautiful viewpoints. Once you step inside the
palace itself, you'll be amazed by the blend of vibrant colors and beautiful architecture.
And you can also explore the interior and get an idea for the history of this palace,
which once served as a holiday residence for the Portuguese Royal Family.
Skip the line and book your tickets in advance via the link in the description below.
We're exploring the Pena Palace and it really looks like a fairytale castle,
just out of the disney movie, it's really cool.
You'll want to cap off the fantastic day trip with some free time in Sintra town.
There are many cute restaurants and bars in the center, where you can sit down and just relax.
The trains back to Lisbon run fairly late and we were fine catching one at around 9PM. If the
day trip sounds like too much planning, you also have the option to book a guided tour. We put a
link in the description below for that as well. We also included a map with all the locations which
you can download in our blog post. Check out our description to find a link to the post. And that's
it for our video on Sintra. We hope you enjoyed it and we'll catch you on the next adventure.