Portugal - Sintra — Yarko On The Go

National Palace of Pena, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO160 1/125 f8

Train to a Fairy-tale Land

After a few days wandering Lisbon, and with the end of our trip in sight, we decided on one last change of pace and place. I hadn’t heard of Sintra prior to our planning for this trip, but it sounded like quite a unique place to visit with and array of spectacular palaces and castles all clustered in one small municipality in the Portuguese countryside. We had not spent much time up to this point visiting historical sights, so the appetite was there to dive into a bit of the region’s architecture and history. Besides, the best way to get there is by train, which suited our little guy just fine given he’s perpetually enamoured therewith!

Portugal Rail — Comboios de Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO250 1/30 f2.8

It was going to be a hot day, so we started out early, opting to grab some pastries for breakfast from any stores we passed along the 1.5 kilometer walk from our apartment to Rossio Train Station where our adventure for the day would truly begin. There are many trains per day between Sintra and Lisbon, and they’re quite inexpensive, so even if you have a rental car in town the rail route should likely be your preferred option. That said, our attempt to get tickets wasn’t without some excitement. It turned out we got to the station just minutes before the next train was leaving, and what followed was a bit of a mad dash around the station trying to find out where exactly to get our tickets. We got a bit of bad advice from one person we asked which sent us to the wrong floor, but eventually we got up to the correct platform level only to find a gigantic line for one of the few windows with operators. There appeared to be automated ticket machines available as well, but these were also lined up. Here’s the pro-tip for travelling parents: If you have young children, it’s customary and accepted to jump to the front of the line to get tickets. Unfortunately we didn’t know this until it was too late, but at least there’s a cafe on the platform to help you kill time waiting for the next train.

Train! Lisbon, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO250 1/30 f2.9

The train trip starts underground until it’s out of the city core and then pops up and into the dense suburbs of Lisbon. This was our first proper glimpse of how most Lisboan’s live and it’s not an unfamiliar site for those used to travelling Europe. Density is king with many apartment blocks, colorfully accentuated by graffiti, whizzing by our windows. The train makes many stops on the way to Sintra, but the overall trip felt short, perhaps just over 30minutes. Eventually, towers give way to more open spaces and villages tucked into valleys begin to signal that the urban expanse is behind us.

The Train to Sintra from Lisbon — The train to Sintra, Lisbon, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO250 1/40 f8

Graffiti from the train, Lisbon, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO250 1/250 f8

Sintra

Hopping off the train at Sintra station you don’t see much, really. The small station sits adjacent a tree-shaded street with a few cafe’s and restaurants lining it. No palaces in sight yet. Some vendors are trying to entice tourists to rent a scooter or take a tuk-tuk to go see the sights, but us being us, we begin to walk where the signs seem to indicate we should go. A small free map at the tourist office proved helpful and I recommend you grab one to help orientate yourself and learn about the sights you want to see.

The Sintra National Palace with its distinct twin white chimneys is likely the first palace you’ll see, but when you do you’ll realize you’re nowhere near it. Sintra lays at the base of a mountain and winds it’s away along the valley bellow it, so you have to loop around the valley to make your way to the National Palace.

Palaces of Sintra, Portugal — Grand structures of Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO2000 1/250 f8

Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO200 1/60 f11

While most of the palaces here seem to contain museums, we opted to simply tour the grounds and observe the beautiful exteriors, intricate gardens and stunning viewpoints. This would allow us to take advantage of the beautiful weather we had that day as well, and minimize the chance of the little guy getting too bored and fussy.

Sintra National Palace, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO200 1/160 f11

Next we made our way to the Quinta de Regaleira palace, to see it’s more gothic structures and expansive grounds and gardens. It’s a bit of a walk to get here from the Sintra National Palace, but well worth it! A surprise lay in store for us here (largely because we did no homework on Sintra before visiting), and the lane leading here was shaded by lovely tall trees and large stone walls. There are a couple of shops along the way where you can grab a snack, or restaurants is you prefer to sit. We did the former on the way to this palace, and the latter on the way back.

Tourists wandering Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO1600 1/160 f8

Quinta da Regaleira, Sintra, Portugal — Quinta Da Regaleira, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO 320 1/160 f8

The grounds of this palace are impressive. Winding paths lead you up, down and around a steep hillside, with views across the valley and back at the palace itself. There are ponds, flora of every sort and plenty of hidden secrets too. The cost and effort to have built-out this lavish property must have been immense.

Gardens of Quinta da Regaleira, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO200 1/160 f8

One of the biggest draws to this property is the well located at the top of the hill. Here, a bit of the mystery began. You see, we saw people lined up to enter the well at the top, but no exit…so where were they going? Unfortunately only one of us was able to find out in person. They don’t allow kids with strollers into the spiral staircase. Sort of makes sense in retrospect, but in the moment our attempts to negotiate a way for us all to visit this unique feature were frustratingly denied. Especially given we found this out after a good 15minute wait in line to get to the entrance. My wife drew the short straw, so it was I that descended into this seemingly inside-out tower. What was the point of it? How do I get out? Where do I find my family after?

Quinta da Regaleira Well, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO320 1/45 f4.5

Quinta da Regaleira Well, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO3200 1/30 f3.2

A cave! More than a cave, lot’s of caves! It seems the cheeky owners of this palace decided to build some catacombs beneath the well, used apparently as a hideaway, underground concert venue, occasional orgy spot and solid hide and seek venue.

Quinta da Regaleira Well, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO5000 1/30 f2.8

Eventually reunited at the bottom, we decide to make our way up the mountain that towers over Sintra’s landscape. All along our wanderings so far I’d been noticing parapets of a castle near it’s peak and I was intrigued. The walk up the hill is fairly long, so pack some water and snacks, especially if it’s a hot day. It’s probably worth mentioning here that some of the locations in Sintra require tickets/reservations in advance to visit. We didn’t know that, given the spur of the moment nature of this day trip, and were caught out once or twice having made our way to spot only to find ourselves unable to enter. We had some concerns we may face a similar scenario at the top of this mountain, but decided to chance it anyway. Besides, you can get away with a lot when you need to when you have a baby stroller in front of you.

Palace da Pena, Sintra, Portugal — Imposing entrance of the National Palace of Pena, Sintra Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO320 1/125 f8

We were not disappointed. The Palacio National da Pena is simply stunning. You first spot it’s defensive walls after the last of countless switchbacks making your way up the mountain and your eyes are immediately assaulted with color. Disneyland ain’t got nothing on this, the magic kingdom was in Portugal all along, folks. The might and opulence of this place is felt immediately. you could just imagine being some sort of foreign dignitary, sweating after a lengthy trip to the castle only to be faced with a candy-colored impregnable fortress. What sort of a person must rule this place? -you ask yourself as yours eyes wander the parapets for archers.

Palacio National da Pena, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO320 1/80 f8

Palacio National da Pena, Sintra, Portugal, Ricoh GRiii ISO200 1/250 f2.8

This quickly became my favorite part of the Sintra excursion. This castle in the sky, painted in wild primary colors, was like something out of a dream and no-doubt the inspiration for so many stories, fairy-tales and films. There are museums and a restaurant within, but we were content to walk around the areas open to the air imagining what it would have been like to reside here some time long ago.

Adeus, Portugal

Literally capping our trip with a castle in the sky felt like a fairy-tale ending to a trip that took us through so many delightful places. From beaches and cafes to cabanas on a lake, winding lanes and the home of monstrous waves, Portugal has a lot to offer a traveller. We only scratched the surface, I’m sure. While we couldn’t hope to cover it all in two weeks, we were happy with the experience we had with this delightfully unique country, it’s friendly people, and delicious food. Our apartment host even helped us track down a taxi with a car seat so that we could catch our early morning flight stress free. Maybe not so tough with a kiddo in tow after all.

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Portugal - Sintra

Train to a Fairy-tale Land

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Yarko On The Go