Fortifications overlooking Sintra

As I promised in the last post, the Sintra pictures were next. It took a bit longer than expected, as I had to download them directly from the camera.

But now you can enjoy them. If you want to skip directly to the photos, you can find them in Sintra, fairytale town.

The way to Sintra was mostly uneventful, although I deffinitelly started to hate the guide. Of course the train does not start from the station I thought it does, so I had to change at an intermediary station. And, as a bonus, the correct station was somewhat closer to where I’m staying.

Having said that, Sintra has something magical to it. It lies in a mountain area, is surrounded by forests, and every building seems to be taken from a children-tale book.

But the town itself, nice as it may be, was not the reason why I went to Sintra.

One of the reasons was the Moorish Castle – Castel dos Muros.

Now, in order to arrive there one is supposed to take a bus. I, however, ignored the distance and just started walking. Later on I realized that between Sintra and the castle are 5km. However the hike was pretty pleasant, so the only concern I had was the time spent walking instead of visiting.

The Moorish Castle – or better put the ruins (mainly walls and towers) – is an old medieval, and later Moor castle, that at fisrt seems deceptively small. Later on I nicknamed it The Great Wall of Sintra. The area surrounded by the wall is huge! However the views were breathtaking. Also the sheer size of the fortifications give a sense of greatness.

After the castle I went to Pena Palace. This 19th century building, which incorporated a 16th century monastery, was built as a retreat for the royal familly. The style is very colorful, and almost every room has some azulejos decoration.

Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside (I hate this), so I do not have the images to show how it looks inside. You can get a pretty good idea though from the outside pictures.

Back in Sintra, I finished the day with a visit to the central palace museum. Nice building, the main attraction is also the azulejos.

At around 6pm I took a train back to Lisbon – it takes about 30 minutes – and found a buffet restaurant in Comercio area. As I was somewhat starving, this was a good thing – I really tried everything!

You can see more photos from Sintra trip in the album Sintra, fairytale town.

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