Portugal: A day trip to Sintra

BY ONEIKA RAYMOND

When in Lisbon, make the day trip to Sintra.

IMG_6961

IMG_6953

IMG_6909

IMG_6950

IMG_6928

IMG_6916

IMG_6907

IMG_6941

IMG_9802

IMG_6920

Just a 45-minute train ride outside of Lisbon is the municipality of Sintra, where a complex of long uninhabited royal palaces perch majestically on jagged mountain tops. A visit to Sintra almost feels like a visit to Disneyland minus the rollercoasters– the castles have turrets, just like the ones in Orlando, and, this being an easy and popular day trip from Lisbon, the crowds of tourists are thick as they would be at the Magic Kingdom. After years of touring Europe, it’s safe to say that Liebling and I aren’t super excited when we happen upon castles and palaces (dare I say we’re even a bit “palaced out”), but Sintra still managed to elicit our marvel, make us care. Out of many attractions, we selected two to visit (the Sintra and Pena National Palaces); just enough to whet our curiosity’s appetite without spending a grip on entrance tickets. So what’s inside? The guts of the palaces are an ornate display of ostentation and past wealth, grand entryways dotted with expensive handmade furniture and wall hangings that make you wonder about those who had the time, riches, and creativity to commission/create such things so long ago. Should you go? Yes!

Tips and Info:
+ The journey to Sintra begins at Lisbon’s Rossio train station and run every 15 minutes during the week and every half hour on Saturday and Sunday. The ride is about 45 minutes and tickets cost about 4.50 Euro ($6 USD) one way.

+ There are at least five major palaces in Sintra and they are all extremely spread out, so if you pressed for time count on seeing at most two. The Sintra and Pena National Palaces are probably the most popular to visit, and there is a combined ticket for entry to both palaces that will run you 21 Euro ($28 USD). Turismode Lisboa gave me a Lisbon Card to try and it gives some discounts on Sintra attractions, so I only paid 18 Euro ($24 USD) for my ticket.

+ Think about buying a bus ticket to shuttle you between the palaces that are very spread out. There are a few different circuits to choose depending on which attractions you want to visit. Upon arrival we purchased tickets for the Pena circuit for 5 Euro ($6.70 USD) each. Beware, these buses are often very congested and don’t come often, so be expect to wait for a while and be packed in like sardines when you finally make it on the bus.

+ Bring snacks! We found the palace complexes to be sorely lacking in good food options (though once you are back in the town there are plenty of places to eat). Bring water and something to nibble on.

+ Sintra is very hilly and you will walk a fair bit between palaces! Wear comfortable shoes.

SHARING IS CARING

205 Comments

Comments are closed.