Trayle

Sintra (August 2005)

One of the most fairy tale places I've ever been to. Let's talk castles!!

You actually stumble over castles and palaces in this place. Just a short drive from Lisbon it is one of the places you can't miss out on. Sintra used to be the summer residence of the royal family of Portugal and before that the the Moorish gentlefolk from Lisbon.
To start with there is the Moorish Castello dos mouros. From the entrance (Euro 3,50 pp) it is a short walk to the actual ruin through some forrest and beautiful maintained gardens. You can walk all along the ancient walls and enjoy the fantastic views over the coastline as well as the rest of the town and its splendid altough sometimes bizarre buildings. Almost opposite the Castello dos mouros you will find the Palácio da Pena. This very colourful kitsch palace dating from the 40's of the 19th century is often used on covers of travel guides and just one picture here doesn't do it justice.  Entrance to the park costs Euro 3,50 pp and you can take the bus (Euro 1,50 for a return ticket) but it is such a nice walk that you should not bother. The park/garden surrounding the palace is filled with amazing trees, gorgeous lakes with beautiful swans and absurd buildings. You would expect to spot Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty any minute now! The interior of the palace itself has been left exactly as it was when the royal family fledded Portugal in 1910. It has concrete walls painted to look like wood, statues of Moors with turbans and electric light candles in their hands and all kind of other strange features. The German architect baron Eschwege put a statue of himself on top of the rocks probably afraid he would be forgotten. For more information about the Palácio da Pena check this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pena_National_Palace.
But wait.....there is more. If you really want to see some grotesque kitsch (I loved it) go to the estate of Quinta da Regaleira at the outer limits of the centre (Euro 5,- pp). It was built between 1904 and 1910 during the last days of the Portuguese monarchy so it is not even that old and it is classified as World Heritage by Unesco. The garden represents a micro-cosmos and show some places full of magic and mystery. The manmade caves and underground lake are an example of that. If you are a fan of mosaics (see picture below), woodcraft, stonecarving or whatever craft has ever been invented check this out since it is truly amazing. A playground for the very rich adult. For more information about the Quinta da Regaleira check this link: http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/costadelisboa/sintra/regaleira.html

If you still haven't had enough you can always spend the night in hotel Palácio dos Seteais (palace of the seven sighs) just around the corner of the Quinta da Regaleira. Don't forget to bring your creditcar though because it is one of the most expensive and luxurious hotels in Portugal, we just had a coke and a beer and that was Euro 9,50.