Portugal is a favoured holiday spot, boasting beautiful cities and charming towns, including one that’s been dubbed a ‘real-life fairytale’. Situated near Lisbon and along the Portuguese Riviera lies the picturesque town of Sintra, which was historically a summer getaway for Portugal’s nobility and Royal family.
This history is evident in the villas, castles, and palaces, which have become sought-after tourist attractions due to their Romanticist architecture and captivating gardens. Sintra is less than four hours from the UK, with flights to Lisbon taking approximately two hours and 50 minutes.
From Lisbon, a train ride to Sintra takes between 40-50 minutes. With this in mind, visitors can choose to stay in Sintra itself or book a hotel in Lisbon and plan a day trip to this historic UNESCO World Heritage Site, reports the Express.
One of Sintra’s main attractions is the Palacio Nacional da Pena, which is recognised as one of the seven wonders of Portugal. This vibrant castle began as a chapel before being converted into a monastery and then a Royal retreat when King Consort Ferdinand II acquired it in 1838.
The castle remained in the possession of the Royal family until 1910 when the Royal family and much of the country’s nobility fled to Brazil to evade the revolution. Since then, Pena Palace has been restored to its appearance at the time the royals left the country.
Another must-visit site is the ruins of the Castle of the Moors, a medieval castle perched on a hilltop that was seized by Christian Crusaders in 1147 and subsequently left to decay. These ruins were later acquired by King Consort Ferdinand II, who transformed them into the ‘showpiece’ we see today.
Sintra also boasts the Quinta da Regaleira, a distinctive neo-gothic mansion filled with mythological and Knights Templar symbols, including an ‘initiation well’.
But the attractions don’t end there; tourists may also wish to visit the Monserrate Palace, an Arabian-inspired villa with serene gardens that, while still popular, are likely to be less crowded than the town’s other landmarks. There’s another castle to explore too, the magnificent Sintra National Palace, which dates back to the medieval era and is believed to be the only castle whose existence spans the entire history of Portugal.
The palace’s first building is thought to have been erected around the tenth or 11th century, during Moorish rule over Sintra, however, no structures from this period remain standing. The oldest part of the castle is the chapel, which dates back to the 14th century, while much of the existing structure was built in the 15th century.