We had an absolutely lovely time in Lisbon and were very excited to see what other cities in Portugal had in store.
Lagos is a popular beach town in Portugal – it’s home to a walled old town, cliffs, and beautiful beaches. It’s only a four-hour train ride from Lisbon. However, we weren’t too interested in looking for another place to sleep on this trip. We were going for a “less is more” vibe.
Instead, we went to Cascais – at less than an hour from Lisbon by train, no overnight is needed. In fact, we had ourselves a leisurely morning so that we could arrive for lunch.
After a quick and healthy meal at Local Cascais, we we took a walk through town to make our way to the beach below.
The cliffs, while not as prevalent in Lagos, were lovely (albeit covered in sargassum – seems like it’s a problem everywhere!). We spent a few hours walking between the beach and the cliffs above, enjoying the warm weather and beautiful sun.
When we’d left Senegal, Harmattan was just winding down, but we’d had months of brown, sand-filled skies.
The water was equally spectacular. It definitely wasn’t warm enough for us to swim in – around 60° F – but we enjoyed the stunning combinations of blues and greens.
We walked down piers and along boardwalks. We tried stopping in a seaside restaurant for drinks, but they would only seat us if we also ordered food, which none of us were hungry enough for.
My sister had just survived another winter in Minnesota, so I think she appreciated the weather even more than we did!
While I don’t regret our decision to take this vacation easy, I will say that spending the day in Cascais whetted my appetite and I think that if we return to Portugal, Lagos would certainly get added to the itinerary.
We walked along the boardwalk from Cascais to Estoril. While taking the train in, we had passed a castle and my goal had been to walk our way back to it before taking the train back into Lisbon.
Forte da Cruz began as a 17th-century coastal defense fort before it was turned into a seaside residence and later a tea room. Today, it primarily functions as an event center for upscale parties and destination weddings. Too bad – I’d have preferred a museum tour.
Didn’t hate our walk in the sand though.
We may have had a leisurely day in Cascais, but our time in Sintra was anything but.
I think we seriously underestimated what we were getting ourselves into. Only a few days before our visit, the Gibbs had reached out and asked us which sites we’d booked – we had somehow missed the fact that ticket reservations were required and some were selling out fast!
We spent that evening checking various websites to see which entry times were still available and what route would make the most sense. Turns out, you can’t just walk between everything – but they thought of that! Instead, there’s an inexpensive bus you can take between sites.
Not everyone in our party was keen on an early morning and Sintra is a 45-minute train ride from Lisbon. Chandler and I made our way alone with plans to visit Monserrate Palace and its gardens before joining everyone at Castelo Dos Mouros later in the morning.
Monserrate did not require a timed entry (not sure if that changes during peak season, we were there during shoulder season). Unfortunately, there was one piece of information we missed: The palace was under construction. Which meant the gorgeous view of the front was completely obstructed.
We walked through the palace itself and then tried to be creative in getting a few photos.
Luckily, the gardens were still lovely. We made our way down the path, past waterfalls and greenery – we spent significantly more time in the gardens than in the palace itself. In fact, there were more gardens than we had time to see, because we knew we’d have to make it to our next stop soon.
Before leaving, we spent some extended time in the garden ruins. While the palace was rebuilt by numerous owners, they all seemed to like the ruins and kept them as they are today. Thomas Cargill even referenced them in his poem, “Fairylife and Fairyland.”
A fun fact I learned after posting these photos to Instagram: A friend from our Peace Corps Ethiopia days had just gotten married at these same ruins six months earlier. Talk about a destination wedding! Her photos from the day were lovely.
Next up was Castelo Dos Mouros (Moorish Castle). The only problem? We had taken the bus up to Monserrate, but it only completes its circuit once an hour! Instead of waiting another 45 minutes, we decided to order a ride share to meet up with the Gibbs (who had arrived in Sintra much earlier than originally planned!).
By the time we got to the Moorish Castle, they had already arrived and had made their way inside – none of us had quite realized how large the area is! I was down below, making frequent pauses for photographs, before realizing I was nowhere near the main event!
What can I say? I’m a sucker for mossy stones.
Originally constructed in the 8th and 9th centuries, it switched hands a number of times and by the 14th century its military importance was diminishing as more of its inhabitants abandoned the castle for the old village of Sintra. Within 100 years, the castle was abandoned.
Severely damaged in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, it was in ruins by 1840 when Ferdinand II began the task of conserving the castle, chapel, and walls.
I have to admit, I’m low-key obsessed with castle ruins. So it’s probably no surprise that the Moorish Castle was my second favorite site of the day (the best was yet to come!).
Chandler kept having to pause and wait for me as I took photo after photo and frequently just paused to admire the views. Walking along the wall was so much fun, though there were definitely areas where it got crowded!
We finally found the Gibbs at the very top. They had decided to wait for us in the windiest part of the site. The views of the surrounding countryside were absolutely stunning. You could even see our next stop, the National Palace of Pena, though I preferred the views of the town below.
It was another absolutely gorgeous day.
By this point, everyone was getting pretty hungry, but we didn’t have much of a choice. Our timed entry to the National Palace of Pena was at 1:30 and we knew we didn’t have time to head back into town for lunch first.
We arrived maybe 30 minutes early and learned that our entry time wasn’t for the site itself, but for a self-guided tour of the inside of the castle.
Out of all of the sites that day, I probably had the highest expectations for Pena Palace. I thought the colors of the palace where absolutely gorgeous and straight out of a fairytale. However, shortly after arriving, it became clear that the site had been Disney-ified.
The palace is a mix of two periods. First, there’s the original 16th-century monastery and then, in the mid-19th century, Ferdinand II asked, “What if we add an entirely new palace?”
This is a palace best photographed by drone – but don’t worry, for an extra fee you can take a drone photo of yourself! And the line into the castle, despite our entrance time, was LONG!
I don’t want to say if you’ve seen the inside of one palace, you’ve seen them all, but I can’t say this one stood out in any remarkable way. Having said that, I think you need to prove that you have a timed entry ticket to even get through the front gates of the garden – I’m just not sure the time inside is time best spent.
I preferred my walk around the outside of the castle (which you can do at many levels). Some of this exploring I did while the Gibbs grabbed a quick snack (all I had was popcorn – it wasn’t a very vegetarian-friendly menu).
Of course, there are beautiful photos that can be taken, but if Monserrate hadn’t been under construction, this probably would have been my least favorite stop (and maybe that’s because I came in with such high expectations).
I would have liked to have spent more time in the gardens, because I’ve heard those are the real jewels of the site. Unfortunately, we had to be at our final destination at 5pm and I was absolutely starving by this point!
We did walk the Lake Route to see just a fraction of the gardens.
We made our way back into town knowing we didn’t have time for a sit-down meal, so we kept our eyes open for a cafe. My eyes snagged on Casa Piriquita as we walked by because I recognized the name from our previous research. We went in for some coffee and pastries and then learned why the cafe was notable: They are the originator of the travesseiro da (pillow of the) Casa Piriquita.
This pastry has became a symbol of Sintra, so it was fun to try the original.
Our final stop of the day (and my absolute favorite) was Quinta da Regaleira. This was the only site that had a different ticket website – everything else is connected through Parques de Sintra, but Quinta da Regaleira is privately run.
Typically, I’m not a fan of arriving somewhere at the end of the day, but 5pm was their final time slot and it was the only one still available! It ended up being perfect. The site is packed throughout the day, but many of the tour groups have left by early evening and even those staying in Sintra were making their way to dinner.
Plus, they were just transitioning from winter to summer hours, so instead of closing at 6pm, they were open until 7pm. The interior of the castle was fairly underwhelming, just like at Pena, however, we didn’t wait in line and it only took a few minutes. We spent the rest of our time in the gardens, the hidden grottoes, the initiation well, and, of course, marveling at the outside of the palace.
Walk around the grounds and you’ll encounter Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, and Manueline styles. Construction began in 1904 and much of it was completed by 1910.
While not nearly as large as the gardens at Monserrate and Pena, the gardens at Quinta da Regaleira are almost ethereal. They transition from cultivated to wilderness with towers, arches, and benches scattered throughout.
One of the ground’s most photographed features is the Initiation Well, a 27-meter (89-foot) inverted tower featuring a spiral staircase. We lucked out here too! Approaching, we could see where they line people up during busy times, as people literally walk down one in front of the other (no backtracking allowed!).
Because of our late arrival, only a handful of people explored the well while we were there. It was mossy, musty, and gorgeous. Plus, plenty damp – and that would only increase the lower we went.
The bottom opens into subterranean passages that lead to varies grottoes, as well as the chapel’s crypt, for those who want a creepy factor.
My phone’s flashlight was much appreciated as very little light penetrates these tunnels once you move away from their entrances. And that dampness? Puddles galore. I managed to avoid stepping in most of them!
For just 4 hectares (10 acres), there was an endless amount of landscape to explore. Some of it straight out of a gothic fairytale – everything I wanted but didn’t get from Pena. And the underground passageways added an incredible layer.
Thanks to the towers, there were also stunning views of the gardens and pathways. We got separated from the rest of the group and it was surprisingly difficult to reunite.
We finally found each other in front of the Portal of the Guardians, one of our last stops before exiting the grounds.
Out of all of our stops in Sintra, Quinta da Regaleira is the only one I would absolutely return to! I would love to spend more time exploring the grottoes. We also maximized our time by walking through the park quickly (or so it felt), I would love to pick a bench and sit for a while.
Having said that, while we managed to see an insane amount during our day in Sintra, if I was going to do it all again, I think I’d spend a night or two in the town. It’s so close to Lisbon that it feels unnecessary, but actually, it was a lovely stop.
If you can get away from all the noise and crowds, I think Sintra would be quite peaceful. Plus, we wouldn’t have felt as rushed, we would have had more time for meals, and there were a few things in town that didn’t make our final list that could have been included.
I can absolutely see why Sintra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site – there’s so much beauty and history to discover!
