Sintra is just a short day trip from Lisbon and we would highly recommend it. This scenic town has three principle attractions: the Moorish Castle, the Pena Palace and the Sintra National Palace. All three can be done in one full day.
There are trains (basically a subway) leaving Rossio Station, which is in the Rossio Square area right in the old town. Return tickets only cost about €5 and there are no seat assignments or fixed hours. Trains leave every hour in the mornings and double up to every half hour in the evening.
The train is fast, comfortable, and forget the stories the tour operators try to scare you with on TripAdvisor. Exercise normal caution and don’t waive around wads of cash or jewelry on the subway, you shouldn’t do that in Miami either!
We recommend getting your ticket the night before if staying close by (you can use it at any time, it’s an open ticket) and coming to the station 10-15 minutes early to get a seat on the train is a good idea. Rossio Station is the beginning/end of the line, so the trains often arrive early and stay in the station for 15-20 minutes before leaving at 11 after the hour.
Monday is a good day to go, as Sintra is open while many Lisbon museums and venues/sites are closed on Mondays. This is also a popular time to go so plan a few extra minutes for queuing for tickets or attractions. Sintra can be a little colder than Lisbon in the winter and the sites are also more open and on hilltops so bring sunscreen, hats, and perhaps a windbreaker in your day bag.
There are snack bars at the Pena National Palace and Moorish Castle so no need to pack a lunch unless you want something better. We found the sandwiches fresh and reasonably priced (€3-4, not like the 7$ hotdogs you find at many North American venues).
On arrival at Sintra Station we will again diverge from the tour books that suggest you take the 434 tourist bus or a hop on hop off tour bus to visit. We ended up waiting for almost an hour in a long line wasting a good part of the morning due to large crowds from the train waiting in line.
Particularly frustrating is that the first stop (the Sintra National Palace) is really only 1km away and an easy walk. We would have seen it by the time our bus came. We ended up saving this site for last and taking the bus up the long and winding roads to the Moorish Castle.
Getting to the castle from the city is a long 4-5 km climb and while there is a separate footpath for the courageous, we decided to save our energy for the visit. We would recommend that, as the visit is also quite strenuous. Even with the bus our phone said we did 46 flights of stairs, walked 20,000 steps and over 10 miles. What a day!
The Moorish Castle was just spectacular. Walking the narrow footpaths along the walls gives you views of not only the Pena Palace, but also the dozen or more picturesque fairy tale castles and mansions including Monserrate and others. Bring a good zoom lens! The sandwich bar at the entry is decent, save some cheese for the resident cats that will come to visit.
From the entrance of the Moorish Castle it’s just a 10-minute walk to the Pena Palace. No need to wait for the bus. At the Pena Palace there is an internal shuttle (€1-2) which can take you up the steep driveway. We walked it, in an effort to walk off some of the Portuguese pastries.
Tip: Buy both tickets at the Moorish Castle and skip the long line at the Pena Palace ticket counter.
Visiting the palace is wonderful; the vistas are just spectacular. You can see Lisbon, the ocean and the many surrounding palaces. Great shots of the Moorish Castle can also be had. Don’t miss the interior visit. We thought we were almost done and it’s easy to skip the last entry and leave but you do want to see the inside for sure if you have time.
Another issue we faced in leaving the Pena Palace was to get back down to the Sintra National Palace in town, the 434 bus had a long line again and the buses arriving were already full and didn’t take many more passengers. We ended up paying again for a tuk-tuk (€5 each) but didn’t regret it as we got out of the crowded line and got to spend our time visiting sites.
Funny how after flying 10+ hours and spending thousands to be here we were thinking penny wise pound foolish in not wanting to pay the extra €5 to make the most of the visit. We would recommend to anyone to skip the crowded buses and simply take a taxi or tuk-tuk to make the most of the day. There is a lot to visit and barely enough time to do it in one day, don’t waste your time waiting in a bus line.
While the hop on hop off did other things as well including Cabo da Roca (furthest west point in Portugal) we were already running all day to cover the three main attractions. For those staying two days or more you could extend your visits to Monserrate and other spots or gardens as well. We enjoyed Sintra enough that we would recommend a couple of days and a slightly less hectic pace.
One last tip would be to stay for dinner. The trains’ head back frequently and go to about midnight so this way you get to enjoy Sintra a little longer and skip the crowded rush hour trains. We tried the Café de Paris and enjoyed a fancy dinner as a perfect end to a day of strenuous walking. The walk back from the palace to the train takes about 10 minutes. Lots of taxis and tuk-tuks are also ready to bring you there. The city looks so different once the tourists have all gone home, just that alone makes it worth staying for dinner or better yet spending an evening in town.
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