Day trips: Sintra, Cascais, Estoril..., Lisbon

Visit the town of Sintra, nearby Lisbon, with its royal palaces and breathtaking views over the sea and hills.Do,t forget to bring your camera with. Enjoy the views.
A Day in Sintra

Sintra is divided into two distinct zones: the new area, where banks and services are concentrated, and the old district – the historic centre, chosen by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1995. The special charm of this old town comes from the contrast between the green hills reaching up to 500 metres, and the majestic monuments that guide us through a journey into the past.

The first interesting point is precisely the Train Station which, although recently renovated due to changes in the railway line, still maintains its original lines. Roman archaeological remains, actually rare in the city, were discovered in place. Similar vestiges were identified in other train stations along the railway, demonstrating that Romans chose this road to make part of their communication system.

From the train station, descending to your left, you reach the City Hall, where the City Council is located. It is a 1908 building, in Portuguese Neo-gothic (Manueline) style, strategically built between the Old City and the Estefania District, the two main areas where Sintra developed its economic and social life.

Continuing left, a few meters ahead, you find one of the reference locations in the Shower Curve (Volta do Duche), which got its name from the public baths that were created here in 1848. Later on, water from watering the gardens continued to fall over its walls and so the name remained.

From this sidewalk to your right, you can see a unique sight of the town, with its vegetation, its palaces and houses, their inhabitants, their lives. A little further you find one of the entrances to Parque das Merendas (Picnic Park) and the fountain where people from town and the surrounding areas come to collect fresh water. A few more hundred meters and you reach the town centre, where shops and visitors are concentrated.

Here stands the majestic Sintra Palace. After you visit the palace, you can walk towards Quinta da Regaleira, a five minute walk to an estate that owes its name to the superb view that you can enjoy from high towers of the house. It is actually unforgivable to visit Sintra and not see Quinta da Regaleira. The 1:30 p.m. visit is recommended, so you can still have time to visit other places.

Coming out from Quinta da Regaleira, walk back down to town but only a few meters, until you reach the sign directing you towards Palácio da Pena. Then, you will climb towards the Eden of Sintra. It is a long walk, but well worthwhile. A little further ahead you will also reach the door to the Moorish Castle.

Coming back down to the city centre, you should take one of the buses that run until the Palace closing time. And if you still feel tired once you are down there, you can return to the Train Station by carriage pulled by two horses. It will be a grand goodbye to the town that Lord Byron and Eça de Queiroz chanted as one of the most Romantic places in the world and that Portuguese kings chose as their summer residence.

Carriage tours (April to September): City tour, 5000 escudos; Quinta da Regaleira, 5000 escudos; Seteais, 7000 escudos; Monserrate, 10.000 escudos; Lagos (Palácio da Pena entrance doors): 15.000 escudos.

And, don't forget to go to 'Periquita', and try to eat queijadas (cakes made from cheese and beans) and travesseiros de Sintra (it's delicious).