When we got back from Algarve, Paula asked me if I knew about Sintra. I obviously did not because although I had briefly done a review on Portugal, my mind had been on a European high for the past 2 months, I forgot everything I learned about Portugal beforehand. So, she insisted I visit the town 46 minutes away from Lisbon by train.
Do you remember reading or hearing the fairytale stories where there is a kingdom where the royal courts resided, but all non-royals lived on the outskirts of the kingdom? Well, Sintra felt like a royal court. It has whimsical mansions, estates, castles, and a lot of forests. You can’t just walk to each place, you must catch a bus or drive a car, if you have one. The architecture of these palaces are out of this world. It is a blend of romantic Europe: Gothic, Baroque, Egyptian, Moorish, you name it.
I booked two tickets for: El Palacio Nacional da Pena and Quinta da Regaleira. There are about 5 different palaces to explore in Sintra, but with the little time I had left in the tail end of my trip, I could only do 1-2 places. If you have more time, I recommend maybe a 1 or 2 night stay to have more time to discover the beauty of this place.
Palacio Nacional da Pena
As you get closer to this place you realize how little you know of Europe. I mean you learn in history class about France, the revolution, the roman empire, etc. but no one talks about Portugal’s history and the grandeur that the 19th – 20th century. At first, the color contrast takes you by surprise. Castles usually are greyish or white, but this place pops with it’s mustard yellow and dark orange tones. I visited on a day with high winds and a lot of fog. It did not feel like August. So my pictures showcase a mystic take on this palace, which was fitting for what is was built for. This palace is surrounded by a park meant to be explored and taken aback by the romanticism you felt as you walked through the green grounds.
The interior was dull, in my opinion, but then again this is how people lived back then, the grandeur was the exterior, but day to day interiors sometimes didn’t match. It reminded me of when I visited the Neuschwanstein castle in Germany, the castle that inspired Disney. It was magnificent from outside, but different from inside. You felt how old the palace was.
Quinta da Regaleira
This was more a house with large gardens, than a palace. This is more gothic looking than da Pena. The main attraction here is the Poço Iniciático (Initiation Well). It’s basically an inverted tower that was inspired by the Knights Templar and is said to have hosted secret religious ceremonies. I couldn’t see it because when I was approaching it, I bumped into a 2 hour line. I didn’t have time to get on line to see it, so I just know it exists from the pictures online.
Gargoyles and more grey is what you see at Regaleira. A different take on mystic grounds.
As I said, little time here in Sintra, but this was an excellent half day trip outside of Lisbon to get a taste of how the nobility lived in Portugal compared to how residents lived in the main city.
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