A day trip to Sintra, Portugal from Lisbon

Sintra is a small and colorful resort town in the foothills of Portugal’s Sintra Mountains, near the capital, Lisbon. A longtime royal sanctuary, its forested terrain is studded with pastel-colored villas and palaces.

Sintra can be a day trip from Lisbon or, one can opt for a night stay there.

Well, for us it was a day trip and it is pretty much doable in a day. We started a little late though around 10:30 AM, but still managed to cover all major attractions.

So, you can start early if you want but 10 AM is a good time.

Do have some breakfast or pack something with you.

I would also recommend buying the train ticket beforehand, as there can pretty long queue for the train ticket.

We paid 2 or 3 euros extra and bought it from a shop inside the station, on the right side o the track.

How to travel to Sintra

We took a train from Lisbon to Sintra which runs every 30 minutes.

There is a tourist Bus 434 right outside the Sintra station that does a loop around Sintra with stops at all attractions

So, it is like a hop on hop off bus but way cheaper :)

A single trip cost 3.90€ and a loop cost(hop on hop off) 6.90€ - isn't that cheap.

You can also drive from Lisbon(but just be prepared to drive through steep hilly roads) or take a group tour/excursions(there are many companies).

However, I would recommend public transport as it is cheap, frequent and convenient and you can take your own sweet time to explore Sintra :)

Things to do in Sintra -

Take the bus and get down at the Pena Palaca and Park - It is a good point to start exploring Sintra

The Pena Palace(my favorite) is a Romanticist castle in Sintra on the Portuguese Riveria and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The castle stands on the top of a hill and it is absolutely gorgeous.

Another reason to leave early for Sintra is the long queue outside Pena Palace.

We didn't buy online and had to wait in the long queue for the tickets.

I would suggest to buy the tickets online(from Pena Palace's website) to skip the queue for ticket and just wait in the queue for entrance.

I would recommend to start with the Park/garden. It is quite big and beautiful. Take your sweet time to stroll around and click pictures :)

Then head to the absolutely gorgeous palace. Take your time to explore it, it is worth it :)

Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day, but still the palace looked so beautiful.

Then you can hop on the same bus from right outside the palace and head towards the Moorish Castle. These are pretty close to one another and if you like to walk , you can. Just remember the road is pretty steep.

We chose to take the bus as it saves time and the road ahead may not be most friendly.

Once that is done, take the same bus and get down at the Historic center of Sintra.

Sintra National Palace is right at the historic center and I would suggest to go there after Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle.

The Historic center of Sintra is pretty colorful with a lot of eateries where one can sit outside, enjoy the sun and the beautiful town.

You can have your lunch here in ht historic center.

The town is very colorful and every street has its own charm. One such just stole my heart.

Then head to the Sintra National Palace – you can either go inside the Palace or can just be around it and enjoy the beautiful view.

My honest opinion- This Palace is nothing special and you can skip going inside if you do not have time or do not wish to pay 10 Euros.

So, if you are planning to visit Lisbon, keep a day reserved for Sintra.

Since there are quite a few things to explore, so if you ask me to choose between Pena Palaca and Moorish Castle – I would choose Pena Palace and Park – it is definitely a must visit.

If too tired or do not have enough time, skip the Moorish Castle and head to the Historic center right after Pena Palace & Park and enjoy the colorful town or have a coffee with Pastel de nata or enjoy a good Portuguese meal 🙂

A day trip to Sintra can be hectic but totally doable .

Trust me, you will not regret 🙂

To be a part of my travel experience, follow me on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/travelwiththetechie

#trip #getaway #travel #Sintra #Portugal