Portugal
Sintra (2 days)
Sintra
2 days / 2 nights, September 2023
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Day trip from Lisbon to Sintra is a must. We had the time so spent more time there. Very easy to get there by a short train ride. Sintra is a charming town up in the foothills a few miles from the coast. Lots of old buildings and historic sites surrounded by hills and nature.
Town center is made up of lots of shops and restaurants along narrow cobblestone roads. Many tourists flowing through all day long. Roads are narrow as are sidewalks.
Ate dinner at Como. Food was good. Mushroom risotto and chefs steak.
Day 1: Pena Palace & Moorish Castle
Breakfast at 9am included with our room. Typical rolls, ham, cheese, jam, sweet roll, and cappuccino.
9:45am left our hotel (Espaco Edla 👌). Across street was bus #434. Since we were concerned about being late for our 10am Pena place ticket slot, we just immediately jumped on the bus that was there, and didn’t question the 25 euro charge, which was actually for all day hop and off tickets. For us we didn’t need that and should have purchased just the one way ticket for half the price, or gotten an Uber less than half.
When you get to Pena Palace you go through one gate and show your ticket (there was a line but moved). You then walk a good 10-15 minute uphill or you can take a shuttle bus. We got to the place at 10:25am. Worked perfectly, since they were still taking 10am tickets, while holding 10:30 ticket people in a long line. We noticed when we left the castle the entrance line was very long, so it paid to get an early entry slot and arrive a bit late, but not too late.
We enjoyed the inside of the castle. The rooms are well preserved- beautiful details, lovely furnishings and ornate ceilings. We had the audio but didn’t download it before we went. Poor wifi and cell service, so wasn’t that helpful.
The outside of the castle has a whimsical feel.
Walked down through the gardens to the lakes. Beautiful and peaceful.
From the lakes we did a short 5-10 minute walk up to the Moorish Castle (12:45pm). We bought our tickets at the first kiosks we saw (there is another kiosk right before the entrance but that line was longer). Could have bought our ticket in advance and avoided all lines. Spent an hour at castle. Walked along the castle wall. Lots of stairs and a good portion of ups and then downs. I’m a little scared of heights so good to have a hand to hold onto. If you want to do the entire wall after going through the main entrance, go to the right. Views were magnificent.
From the moorish castle we followed signs down the hill to town center. About a 25 minute walk. Lovely to stop and sit outside at one of the bars for a drink and people watch. Enjoyed trying the local Ginjia in the chocolate cup.
Dinner at Incomom. Very good. Sea bass and linguine with shrimp and crab.
Day 2: Quinta da Regaleira
Buy your tickets in advance as we wasted time standing in the very slow ticket line, while trying even slower cell service to get online tickets.
We spent a couple of hours wandering along multiple paths through lush gardens with stone towers sprinkled throughout.
Our first stop was the Initiation Well, the main tourist sight, where you can walk the spiral stairs to the bottom of the mesmerizing well. It is a 10 minute walk to the well from the entrance. Stood in the well line for about 15 minutes. Worth it! Lots of caverns to check out as well as a waterfall.
If you only had one day you could have done all of the above if you skip sitting outside in town and walked straight to Quinta da Regaleira. We enjoyed having 2 leisurely days.
