Praia das Maçãs

Understand

The name Sintra (SEEN-truh, /ˈsĩ.tɾɐ/) is derived from the same root as the English word "sun". It is in a mountain range some 28 km (17 mi) north-west of Lisbon, and approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) from the Atlantic coast in the west. There is evidence of human activity in the area at least since the Paleolithic stone age. The site is famous for the Sintra Collar, a golden neck ring from around the 9th century BC kept at the British Museum in London. During the 8th century it became part of Al-Andalus, Muslim Iberia. The new rulers fortified one of the mountain tops, creating what is today called The Castle of the Moors which remained in Moorish hands until 1147 when it surrendered to crusader troops, one month after the fall of Lisbon.

In addition to the mountain top castle the Moors constructed a residential palace further down-hill. This palace, simply known as Sintra Palace, was eventually assumed as the summer residence of the rulers of Portugal. It has been expanded and rebuilt several times, and the oldest sections still standing today is a palace chapel constructed by King Dinis I during the early 14th century, as a gift to his wife Saint Elizabeth of Aragon. Other parts of the building where constructed during the reign of King John I, and King Manuel I, after whom the neo-gothic "Manueline" architectural style is named. King Afonso VI was imprisoned in the palace from 1676 until his death in 1683, after being deposed by his brother Pedro II. The palace was damaged in the great earthquake of Lisbon in 1755, but was later fully restored. By the end of the 18th century Sintra's exotic and mysterious ruins and nature became renowned and awed by several romantic poets. Lord Byron called it the "Glorioso Eden" while Richard Strauss claimed it to be "a true garden of Klingsor, and there in the heights, a castle of the Holy Grail". It became a routine part of the Grand Tour, which many young nobles made around Europe at the time. As a consequence of its fame it beca

Getting there

By train The town proper is a 10-minute walk from the train station. However, city buses to the center can be caught from the small bus stop directly on the right as one exits said station. These are the same buses that take circular routes to all the tourist sites, and offer tickets good for all day, so odds are one would be buying one of their tickets anyway.

1 Estação Ferroviária de Sintra (Sintra Train Station), Av. Dr. Miguel Bombarda. Ticket office: M-F 06:45-20:30, Sa Su and holidays 07:00-20:30. Sintra can be reached by frequent CPcommuter train service from several Lisbon stations, including Santa Apolónia, Oriente, Campolide and Rossio, with trains departing from Rossio every twenty minutes, and the Oriente line every ten minutes. Lisbon's public transit Viva Viagem cards are valid for travel to Sintra, with round-trip tickets costing around €4.40. If you do not already have a Viva Viagem card, note that queues for the ticket counters in Rossio can be enormous and clogged with tourists, especially mid-morning. (updated May 2017) Queues for the ticket machines may be shorter, but may be equally slow as many machines take coins only, and many tourists may not understand how to operate them. Tell the machine that you want a ticket for two trips; you will need one for the outward and one for the return journey. Remember to validate your ticket by touching it to the checkpoint before boarding the return train. Keep the used ticket, as you can re-charge it for other trips in and around Lisbon.

By bicycle Cycling in Sintra can be an interesting day out for those who are fit and have some experience. If staying in Sintra and around a local company is a good option for you. In case you are visiting Sintra then your best bet is to book a tour or rent a bike e.g. in Lisbon, take the commuters train from Rossio station to explore Sintra and/or the Nature Reserve finishing in Cascais, a beautiful day trip on a bicycle, in the end take a train back to Cais do Sodr

Getting around

By bus It's probably best for most visitors to take one or more of the public bus routes. The routes are one-way and circular, with a stop in front of each of the major tourist sights, so keep this in mind when planning the order in which you see each sight. One ticket is good for all day on that particular bus route. Think a relatively cheap hop-on/hop-off bus route, and you have the idea. All the buses stop directly at the train station as well (just to the right upon exiting), so they can be caught immediately upon arrival via train.

There are several of these circular routes, but probably for most the 434 and 435 routes are of greatest interest. 434: Route: Sintra Train Station -> Sintra City Center -> Moorish Castle -> Pena Castle -> return 435: Route: Sintra Train Station -> Sintra City Center -> Regaleira Palace -> Seteais Palace -> Monserrate Palace -> return. The "Linha Monserrate" that picks up passengers in front of the Palácio Nacional de Sintra is only a "sight-seeing" bus, it does not deliver you to Monserrate.

As of May 2024, the charge is now €13.50 for a 24h ticket that allows you to use the 434 and 435, which should give you access to all of the main attractions. The general frequency of the buses is around 20 minutes. You may purchase the tickets on the buses at any of the stops. There are also, actual "hop on/hop off" buses (the big red buses one sees in so many cities), but with a significantly higher price, and unclear advantage over their cheaper public equivalents. To get to Cabo da Roca (Cape Roca), the westernmost point of mainland Europe, take the Scotturb 403 bus (Direction = Cascais). The journey takes about 40 minutes. Check the price of a rideshare e.g. Uber if you have a family or group as it can work out cheaper than the bus.

By tuktuk The 434 bus is usually completely full by the time it reaches the historic centre of Sintra. Tuktuks are freely available to go up the mountain to the fort, or Pena (ask to be dropped off at

See

Parques de Sintra sites Admission prices and opening times of the sites can be found on the Parques de Sintra website, where you can buy tickets. Buy online to avoid a long queue. You get a 15% discount for buying 3 days in advance, and small discounts for buying tickets for more than one site. Sintra can be extremely busy, particularly in summer, and especially at weekends. The main sights are best visited at the start of the day (most open at 09:30) or late afternoon (most are open until 19:00-20:00) to avoid the crowds and queues.

1 Pena National Palace (Palácio Nacional da Pena). Beautiful example of pseudo-Moorish Romantic architecture. You can walk there from Sintra in about an hour (uphill!) or catch a bus. You can see a good collection of furniture and the royal apartments. Tickets are sold on a timed basis. Arrive at the park 30 min before your ticket time so that you can walk up to the palace. You will not get a refund if you miss your time. Surrounding the palace is a hug