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Cultural Landscape of Sintra

Sintra · Portugal

Background

World Heritage since
1995
Type of site
Cultural
Romantic Sintra
19th c.

In the 19th century Sintra became the first centre of European Romantic architecture. UNESCO says Ferdinand II turned a ruined monastery into a castle displaying this new sensibility in Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance elements, with a park of local and exotic trees; other dwellings built in the same spirit across the serra created a unique combination of parks and gardens that influenced landscape architecture across Europe.

Wikivoyage traces the hill: the Moors fortified the top in the 8th century, and the Castle of the Moors surrendered in 1147 a month after Lisbon fell; their palace lower down became the summer residence of Portugal's rulers, the Sintra National Palace, whose oldest part is a chapel built by King Dinis. Sintra can be extremely busy, especially summer weekends: book Parques de Sintra tickets online and go at opening or late afternoon.

More on the UNESCO listing More on Wikipedia

  1. 8th c.The Moors fortify the hilltop
  2. 1147The Castle of the Moors surrenders to the crusaders
  3. MedievalSintra Palace becomes the royal summer residence
  4. 19th c.Ferdinand II builds Pena on a ruined monastery
  5. 1995Inscribed as World Heritage

Find Your Way Around

The main parts of the site, in the order most visitors see them

  1. 1
    Pena Palace
    The Romantic palace on the hilltop, with the quieter park, its bark-clad chalet and greenhouses.
  2. 2
    Castle of the Moors
    The ruined walls along the ridge.
  3. 3
    Sintra National Palace
    The old royal summer palace in the town.
  4. 4
    Quinta da Regaleira
    The initiation well, in the GoGo guide's afternoon.
  5. 5
    Praia das Maçãs
    A 45-minute tram ride downhill to the beach, past the Colares winery.
  6. 6
    Travesseiro
    Sintra's pastry, the guide's last stop.

Know Before You Go

From Wikivoyage and the GoGo guides

Book Three Days Ahead
Wikivoyage: buy online to skip the queue, with 15% off three days in advance; Pena tickets are timed and not refunded if you miss your slot, so arrive 30 minutes early for the walk up.
Opening or Late
Most sites open at 09:30 and stay open until 19:00 or 20:00; the start and end of the day are quietest.
Train from Rossio
The GoGo guide: about 40 minutes by train from Rossio; the town is a 10-minute walk from the station, and circular buses stop at each sight.
Uphill to Pena
About an hour's walk up from town, or the bus.

Palaces in the Hills

From the GoGo Lisbon guide · Open the Lisbon Guide ›

  1. 09:30
    Pena Palace on the Hilltop2 hrs
    The Romantic palace.
  2. 12:00
    Walls of the Moorish Castle1 hr
    Along the ridge.
  3. 14:30
    Initiation Well at Quinta da Regaleira90 min
    The spiral well.
  4. 17:00
    Sintra's Travesseiro Pastry30 min
    The local pastry.

Best Time to Visit

Best months: May–Oct.

Typical highs

Best monthsRain: wettest Nov (93 mm), driest Jul (4 mm)

Climate: NASA POWER

Pair It With

Other World Heritage sites nearby, by distance

WORTH A NIGHTDAY TRIPSAME DAYDistance not to scale · tap a site
Do These Together
Mafra's palace is 19 km away and Belém's monastery and tower 20 km, both World Heritage sites and in the GoGo Lisbon guide.
Sources
UNESCO World Heritage Centre, listing 723 · Wikipedia: Sintra · Wikivoyage: Sintra (CC BY-SA 4.0) · GoGo Lisbon guide · UNESCO listing