While visiting Lisbon my friend and I took a quick day trip to Sintra. Located about an hour outside of Lisbon, Sintra is a fairyland frozen in time. The cliffside town is sprinkled with art objects and historic sites like a moorish castle and masonic initiation well.
It’s only 5 euros roundtrip to take the metro from Lisbon out to Sintra so I highly recommend going that way. The train drops you right downtown and everything else is walkable or easily accessible via one of the many tuk tuks.
One of the most famous sites in Sintra is Pena Palace. It’s a stunning example of 19th century Romantic architecture. In fact it’s one of the best expressions of that architectural style in the world and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s also up 50,000 flights of stairs. Okay, I may be exaggerating slightly but it is at the top of the mountain that is Sintra. You can take a tuk tuk or a bus. We walked up (about a two hour climb) and then tuk tukked down.
I may have been sweaty and disgusting by the time we got there but boy was it worth it. The palace was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s also surrounded by lush gardens with hidden pathways and secret alcoves. While wandering the grounds I kept visualizing the secret trysts and royal drama that must have gone on at the time.
The palace actually began its life as a monastery and then fell to ruins after it was struck by lightning in the 18th century. A young King Ferdinand fell in love with it and had it rebuilt to be a summer palace for the Portuguese royal family. It was hard not to imagine what a pain it must have been to get up there every summer especially without cars. Imagine being the poor schmuck servant in charge of trucking up a royal household’s worth of possessions every year.
Sometimes when I visit notable places that are crowded with tourists I find them unenjoyable because they’re so popular. But Pena Palace was worth the climb and the crowds. It really illustrates the unique history of Portugal, torn between Moorish influence and European tradition.
If you’re planning a trip to Lisbon I highly, highly recommend putting aside a day for Sintra. Just be prepared for a hike.