Sintra, Portugal: 2022
Sintra is located 30 kilometres (18.5 miles) from Lisbon and is easily reached by train departing from Rossio Station. Your Viva Viagem transit card works for the trains to Sintra, Cascais and other destinations as well as the subway and river ferry over to Cacilhas. Sintra is hard to describe - words like ‘fairytale’, ‘eclectic’, and ‘stunning’ really do not do it justice. Pena Palace built (the fanciful parts) by King Ferdinand for his partner, Marie II, in the mid-late 1800s. The original monastery and cloisters are from the 1500s, though most of the original castle was damaged in the earthquake of 1755 that also destroyed much of Lisbon. While Sintra is only about 35 minutes away from Lisbon by train - plan on a very full day exploring the palace, park, and town of Sintra. Don’t miss the ‘Initiation Well’ (aka ‘upside down tower’) near the town of Sintra. We have been here twice now and have run out of time both trips to get over to the Initiation Well - maybe 3rd trip will be the charm - sometime in the future. If you are in to a good hike - the walk up to Pena Palace will take a couple of hours on a fairly steep road. Or, take the shuttle bus up and walk down to Sintra after you have explored Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle (built around the 8th century). Views from the Moorish Castle back toward Pena Palace are fantastic. Of note - there can be a hearty breeze on both the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace, so hold on to your hat. Some links to check out before visiting Pena Palace - and as always; for a good traveler’s history and a history of the art in the area we rely on Rick Steves’ travel books. Stay tuned at the end of the video for two Sintra travel hacks. Really, two points to make things easier.
Inverted Tower: www.bbc.com/tr...
Pena Palace: www.sintra-por...
Rick Steves: www.ricksteves...
18 сен 2024
