Top 10 Things to Do in Sintra

Sintra sits in a green microclimate half an hour from Lisbon and holds more palaces per square kilometre than anywhere else in Portugal. It is also the busiest day trip in the country, so the order you visit things matters as much as what you visit.

## The ten 1. Pena Palace, the Romanticist palace on the highest ridge, built for King Ferdinand II in the 1840s. 2. The terraces of Pena, where you can look across to the Moorish Castle walls without climbing them. 3. Quinta da Regaleira, with its Initiation Well and tunnels. Worth adding if you like symbolism and gardens. 4. The Sintra Natural Park, the forest road itself, which is half the experience. 5. Cabo da Roca, twenty minutes away, the westernmost point of mainland Europe. 6. The old medieval village of Sintra with the National Palace and its two white chimneys. 7. Travesseiros, the local pastry, flaky and filled with almond cream. 8. Queijadas, the older Sintra sweet, smaller and less famous. 9. The coast road towards Cascais, with the Atlantic on one side the whole way. 10. Cascais itself, an old fishing town that grew around its bay.

## How much fits in a day Realistically: one major palace, one garden or castle, Cabo da Roca and Cascais. Trying to add a third palace turns the day into a queue. Pena is the one most people come for, so it is usually the first stop of the morning.

## Practical notes Tickets for Pena are timed, and the entrance is a walk uphill from the ticket area. The weather in Sintra can be several degrees cooler and mistier than Lisbon, even in summer. Parking in the village is limited, which is why so many visitors do the day with a driver.

Tell us if you prefer palaces, gardens or coast and we will weight the day accordingly.