Exploring Sintra

If I had to describe Sintra with one word it would be a fairytale. This town near Lisbon made of palaces, exotic gardens, all kinds of architectural styles, surrounded by calming, kind of mystical forests is something that words cannot describe. Lord Byron called it a “glorious garden” and Hans Christian Andersen called it “the most beautiful place in Portugal”. It takes only 40 mins by train from Lisbon and it has to be on everyone’s ‘To See’ list. Most people who come to Sintra tend to choose two or three sights to see as there are a lot to go through and each palace is very big and requires at least an hour to explore. We chose 2, one very touristy and one very quiet but still amazing.

The first stop was Pena Palace which is the main and the most famous castle and therefore the most busy with tourists. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal and it is the most colorful and original palace I’ve ever seen, like a real life Lego structure mixed with a castle from 1001 nights. The palace dates back to the Middle Age when it served as a chapel and later it was a royal Portuguese residence.

The afternoon was reserved for Monserrate Palace,a palace surrounded by luscious gardens built in 1856 by Francis Cook, a famous British art collector. Even though you will find it when you Google Sintra palaces , this place is like a hidden gem. Completely different than Pena Palace which was buzzing with tourists, Monserrate was so peaceful with mainly gardeners and builders walking around.