Day Trip from Lisbon: Sintra
From the city of Lisbon, Sintra is easily accessible by train and can be done as a day trip. Here’s the itinerary below with my thoughts on must see’s and maybe skip. This guide assumes that you will be in Lisbon and costs reflect what I experienced in 2024.
Getting to Sintra from Lisbon
From Lisbon’s Rossio station, it takes 40-45 minutes to get to Sintra. The trains depart frequently and at the time of this article, a round trip ticket was only €5.00. My suggestion is to get to Sintra by 9 AM to avoid the crowds and ensure that you get to Pena Palace before it opens at 9:30 AM.
Once you arrive, ignore all the tuk-tuks and take an Uber (approx. €6-10) to Pena Palace. There should be no traffic at this time. You can also choose to hike 45-60 minutes uphill.
Pena Palace
Pena Palace is a colorful UNESCO World Heritage site that looks like it was inspired by a child’s fairy tale castle. As it is the top attraction in Sintra, it is highly suggested to go here first and take all the photos you want before the crowd comes.
While you could pay extra to visit the interior, I chose to only explore the terrace to make the best use of my time. Doing this early allowed me to have the terrace nearly to myself early in the morning while people went to explore inside.
Cost: €7.50
Where to purchase: Parques de Sintra - Pena Palace
I bought it online to skip the ticket queue, but you can choose to buy it directly too. If you are going to visit other Parques de Sintra, double-check to see if they are still doing the combo ticket deal to save some money!
Castelo dos Mouros
A short five-minute walk down the road from Pena Palace’s entrance brought us to the Moorish Castle. There’s a bit of a hike as you traverse up the steps, but the payoff is incredible views and an adventure into history. The ancient castle ruins run along a ridge, offering breathtaking panoramas of the Sintra hills and of Pena Palace from below.
While navigating the castle’s paths and stairways, we got a pro tip from a stranger: As you near the castle’s highest point, take the left path instead of going straight up the stairs to enjoy a gentler climb up and use the stairs on your way down. This small adjustment made the hike easier, and the views were even better from this route!
Cost: €7.50
Where to purchase tickets: Parques de Sintra - Moorish Castle
Lunch
From the Castle of the Moors to get back to town, follow the yellow and red line markers to get back to the historic center.
Ignore the ones with the X’s. I almost went down one X path until I saw a barbed fence blocking off the path.
Once you get back to town, find yourself some lunch and wander around I tried the travesseiros at Casa Piriquita, which is a classic treat to get at Sintra. It was a bit too sweet for me, but I am more of a savory girl anyway. I also ate at a quaint spot called Villa 6 and had a delightful meal. I ordered the preggo (a classic Portuguese steak sandwich with garlic and buttered toast), cod cakes, and codfish toast with mussels. All three dishes exceeded my expectations and tasted amazing with Porto Tonicos, a twist on the classic gin and tonic made with white port.
Quinta da Regaleira
After lunch, we decided to visit Quinta da Regaleira, home to the famous Initiation Well. This intriguing well has a winding staircase that spirals down into an underground network of tunnels, which might have been used for escape rooms or something in the past.
Though the well was interesting, I found this visit a bit tiring and not necessarily worth staying out in the heat for. If you’re short on time or energy, you might choose to skip this stop or save it for a future trip.
Cost: €10 for entry.
Combo tickets may be available if you’re visiting other attractions in Sintra.
