How To Spend One Day In Sintra
Sintra is one of the most popular day trips from Lisbon and there are a few different ways to get here to explore this fairytale-like town. Spending one day in Sintra is an incredible way to experience the history of Portugal, although it does require somewhat of a plan in order to make the most of your time (especially in the crowded summer months). So, let’s start with this: A few mistakes I made in Sintra that you can avoid by planning ahead.
If you’ll be solo traveling to Sintra, make sure to check out this guide on my Ultimate Solo Travel Tips to make the most of your trip!
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5 Things To Know Before You Go To Sintra:
1. Buy Your Tickets beforehand:
First things first, you need to buy your entry tickets beforehand. Not only will this will allow you to skip those ticket lines at the gate upon arrival, but some places require it. For instance, in order to see Pena Palace, you need to have a timed entry slot. You can secure these tickets prior to arriving in Sintra here.
2. Give Yourself Time at Pena Palace
Though you will want to give yourself plenty of time to explore each stop, this one is for Pena Palace specifically. The timed entry slot that you get with your ticket is not for the park itself, but for the palace interior. If you miss your time slot, you will not be refunded! It takes about 15 minutes walking uphill to get to the palace after you enter the gate, so make sure you give yourself enough time for this.
3. Choose Your Transportation Wisely
You can take a day trip from Lisbon to Sintra with transportation included or a bus from Lisbon to Sintra, however, if you’re driving yourself, you’ll have to plan ahead. In order to get to the palaces and castles here, you won’t be able to just drive right up and park in front of them. We learned this the hard way and wasted about 30 minutes in standstill traffic to get back into the town when we first arrived in Sintra. You can park on the streets if you find an open spot, but we just went to a parking lot and paid about 5 euros for the day.
Once you’ve parked, you can either take the Bus 434 to the castles and back, which was about 9 euros a person or you can hop on a TukTuk. I’d only recommend the TukTuk if you have a bigger group (you get more bang for your buck rather than paying per person on the bus) or if you get claustrophobic, as Bus 434 can get quite busy in the summer.
4. Dress Comfy
Despite the photos you may see online of influencers adorned in flowing dresses and heels at the palace, you’re going to want to dress comfortable. As you may have gathered, Sintra is very hilly and you WILL be walking a lot in order to explore all of the gardens and palaces that the city has to offer.
5. Mentally Prepare For The Crowds
Sintra gets almost 2 million people visiting their national palace every year and influencers are experts at angles, so don’t expect to have the place to yourself. Make sure to leave extra time for the lines and expect your photos to have some people in them.
Bonus: If you want to ensure that you have cell service, I highly recommend grabbing an eSIM from Airalo. I’ve tried 5 different companies out when in Portugal, and this one was by far the best for ensuring that you have service without throttling when on the road.
Where To Park In Sintra:
It was essentially the blind leading the blind when we first arrived to spend one day in Sintra. Once we were stuck in that first line of traffic, we took a left instead of a right like most at the roundabout in the city and it led us to a less-crowded backstreet.
I will say there was quite a bit of street parking in this area. So, if you get here early, you should have a spot. Otherwise, the parking lot I chose was hidden at the end of the road and had extra spots both when we arrived and when we left for the day.
The parking lot’s name is Parque de Estacionamento Rio and if you type this in on Apple Maps, it should lead you right there. It’s open 24 hours a day and you can use card to pay. We visited 2 castles and had lunch in between and our total was only 5 euros for the entirety of our time parked.
How To Spend One Day In Sintra:
While staying in Lisbon for a few nights, we made the plan to go and spend one day in Sintra. It was only about a 40 minute drive from the city and after dealing with the stress of parking, we were on our way to the first stop.
I’ll be the first to say, I could’ve planned this portion better from the start. We’d decided to go to Sintra just a mere hour before we left the hotel in Lisbon, so the majority of my research was done on the ride up after purchasing my entry tickets. With that being said, instead of taking the trusty Bus 434 to our first stop, we power-walked up the hill for about 30 minutes before finally arriving at the esteemed Quinta da Regaleira.
Quinta Da Regaleira
This castle was designed and built in the late 1800s and now draws in over 800,000 visitors a year. There are over 4 hectares of land to explore once you enter and here’s how to make the most of it in one day in Sintra.
Quinta da Regaleira opened at 10 in the morning. After the parking fiasco, it was about 11:30 by the time we arrived at the entry gates. Thankfully, we had pre-booked our tickets and we were able to just slip right in with a quick phone scan. However, if possible, I’d recommend getting here as early as possible if you want to see the main draw: The Initiation Well.
What To See In Quinta Da Regaleira
The well is almost 90 feet deep with a spiral staircase that circles to the bottom. It is said that this was supposed to signify the 9 levels of Hell from Dante’s Inferno. Once you reach the bottom, there are a series of tunnels to explore.
This is easily the most crowded attraction in Quinta da Regaleira and when I arrived at 11AM, there were already over 100 people waiting in line to enter the Initiation Well. So, if you don’t arrive early enough, you may have to skip this part, but there is plenty more to explore within the castle grounds. In fact, you could spend over 2 hours wandering just the gardens themself.
After strolling the outskirts, head into the main house. Though you can only visit the first floor, you’ll be able to see the dining room, music room and more. Each one is decorated to the nines and it’s super interesting to see how the elite used to live.
Before you leave, make sure to walk through the Promenade of the Gods. The stone statues here are actually connected with the cult of Freemasonry.
Best Sintra Restaurant For Lunch
It was about a 20 minute walk back to town after visiting Quinta da Regaleira, so we decided to grab some lunch. A local had recommended Dona Maria to us and said the food was great, although a little pricey and he was right. It was a little chilly, but we still sat out on the patio and the servers welcomed us with blankets to stay cozy while enjoying the awesome viewpoint of the city.
Our lunch was honestly super rushed because of our late arrival in Sintra and we had to make it to Pena Palace for our timed entry at 2:30. Just outside of the restaurant is a stop for Bus 434, which could not have been more perfect. It was about 9 euros a person to get the bus from the city to Pena Palace and back, which I highly recommend doing. However, if you have more than four people in your group, you might as well take a TukTuk because you’ll pay less than the per person fee on the bus.
Pena Palace
Over 800,000 people visit Pena Palace each year. Not only is it a UNESCO World Heritage site, but it’s also one of the seven wonders of Portugal. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, but you NEED to get a ticket beforehand because a timed entry slot is necessary to enter Pena Palace. We bought ours here to avoid waiting in the ticket lines and praying for the next available opening to be soon.
It’s about a 15 minute walk uphill after you enter the gates to get to the palace and this is actually where you need to be at the time of your ticket, so give yourself some wiggle room with the crowds. Honestly, because they limit the entrance times, it was much more enjoyable to walk through the interior than battle the crowds on the balcony. I can definitely see why Pena Palace is one of the most popular tours here however, because it was absolutely stunning both inside and out.
This site dates back to the 12th century when there was just a chapel here. The King ordered it to be made into a monastery, however, when the earthquake struck Lisbon in 1755, the place was basically left in ruins. Although, the monastery still stayed active until the abolition of religious orders in Portugal in 1834. You can still see the rooms where monks used to stay here when you walk through, which I thought was fascinating.
Just 2 years after this, Ferdinand the second began to turn Pena Palace into his summer home and it is absolutely wild to me that someone was able to call this place not only their home, but their backup home.
All of the paths on the property were intertwined to take visitors to the best viewpoints in the area. Pena Palace wasn’t classified as a national monument until 1910, but it’s is now the single most important site in the Cultural Landscape of Sintra.
We didn’t end up spending as much time exploring Pena Palace as we did Quinta da Regaleira, so we left after an hour or so in order to get back to Lisbon for dinner plans.
Best Hotels In Sintra:
If you have more time, spending one night in Sintra is an awesome experience! Here are a few of the best hotels in Sintra to stay in, depending on your budget:
Best Luxury Hotel In Sintra:
Valverde Sintra Palacio de Seteais is a 5 star hotel nestled in the mountainside. It has spectacular views of both Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle, so you can feel like true royalty. The hotel is just 1.5km from the Sintra train station, although, with all of the amenities you may not even want to leave.
Best Mid-Range Hotel In Sintra:
Casa do Valle is a 3 star hotel just a 6-minute walk from Sintra National Palace and a 14-minute walk to Quinta da Regaleira. You can soak in some of their amenities like the outdoor pool surrounded by a lush garden or take part in their in house yoga classes.
Best Budget Hotel In Sintra:
Moon Hill Hostel is just 984 feet from the train station, allowing for easy access when coming from Lisbon. The front desk is open 24 hours and they do serve breakfast on site each morning.
