Sintra comes highly recommended as a day trip for those visiting Portugal, especially from one of my students who is originally from Sintra. Hoping to make this a much easier transport day, we took a noon train to Sintra, bought tickets for the tour bus that circles the tourist sites, and arrived at Sintra city center with relative simplicity- yay! It’s a cute town filled with crooked little alleys and streets, lined with local shops and restaurants. We had one of our favorite meals at Restaurante Tulhas. It’s a cozy little Portuguese family-owned restaurant that was super affordable. From there, we went sightseeing- the 9th century Castle of the Moors and the Romanticism period’s Pena National Palace, both offered amazing views from the mountain. It was so green and colorful from up above. Also, very cold! We had an easy return home after about 9 hours out exploring Sintra and Lisbon. Overall, Lisbon and Sintra are clean and cozy towns, full of friendly people offering assistance and just a laid back place to explore. Off to our last destination tomorrow- Madrid!
Streets of Sintra
Tiled building fronts- this was very common among many of the buildings in Sintra and Lisbon.
Tiles
Restaurante Tulhas
Castle of the Moors
View of Sintra from the castle
View of Lisbon but due to clouds, can't see too much...
View from the Tower's Keep
View of the Pena Palace from the castle
Walking up to the Pena Palace
Walkway into the Palace
The Portuguese flag at the Palace
Ornate detailing
And the brightest of colors
Interior courtyard of the Palace
Exterior view of the Palace