Sintra is a treasure of Portugal

 At 27 km from Lisbon is a small town Sintra, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The former Moorish sanctuary was chosen by monastic and knightly orders, and then turned into a royal residence. Nowadays it is necessary to allocate at least two days for the inspection of this city. Modern Sintra - it's numerous palaces, surrounded by exotic parks with tropical greens and beautiful fountains, narrow winding streets through the hills, steep staircases built by Masonic lodges.
This city was admired by kings and princes, here Byron himself created, Hans Christian Andersen was passing through. Bright colors of Sintra, quaint details of interiors, unique fauna of local places will be remembered for a long time.
Sintra ... Even the very name of this town sounds like music. To visit Lisbon and not to call at least for a couple of hours in his suburbs is considered indecent. This is just the case when a visit to a small city may be more interesting than walking around the noisy capital of Portugal. Sintra is a city of palaces and parks, the summer capital of the monarchs of Portugal, a testament to the wealth and prosperity of the once powerful empire.

Making the trip enjoyable

Even if you come to Sintra completely unprepared and absolutely do not know anything about its history or its sights, you will get as much information about all the local historical sites. To do this, you should contact the tourist office and stock up perfectly issued maps of the whole of Sintra, as well as of each palace and park separately. All booklets are free of charge and allow you to schedule the most interesting objects for inspection.

Sintra - the city of palaces and castles

Unfortunately, the Portuguese are well aware that the numerous tourists who come to their country, strive not only to leave their funds in local stores, but also to see the well-preserved fortresses and palaces, so the entrance to the territory of these museum complexes is paid. Often the ticket price is very high. To save a little and not to deny yourself the pleasure to visit most of the local attractions, you can buy a card "Parks and palaces of Sintra", which provides discounts when you visit a particular object. Owners of cards "Lisboa card" will also benefit, because, firstly, they may not stand in the general queue for tickets, but go straight to the entrance to the objects of interest to them, and secondly, they receive about 15-20% of the discount from Cost of the ticket.

Historical reference

Sintra was founded more than 10 centuries ago, it existed even during the reign of the Moors in these places. Until now, many tourists are exploring the abandoned Moorish fortress, built once on a hill above the city, with its walls offering a magnificent view of the surrounding area. The year 1147 was marked by the expulsion of the Moors from Portugal. The Christian world sighed calmly and began building monasteries in the country, including in Sintra. The Templars were the first to appreciate the favorable location of the city. They built their abode here and disposed of the vast lands granted to them by the Portuguese monarchs. Soon the kings themselves realized how attractive the city is near the capital.
Here began the construction of a luxurious royal palace. Sintra has turned into a summer residence for monarchs. Following their monarchs, representatives of the Portuguese nobility also moved to this city, which very quickly built up a quiet city with magnificent villas. No one adhered to one architectural style. Many aristocrats became rich, traveling to different countries, so they built palaces in an exotic manner, adopted in foreign countries. Now Sintra is a collection of colorful, strange palaces, not similar to each other and so and interesting.

The fabulous Sintra palaces

Palace of Kings

Perhaps the main attraction and heart of the city of Sintra is Palacio Nacional Palace, which is also called Pasu-Real. This is the very construction with which the glory of Sintra as the royal city began. This palace, crowned by two tall, light pipes, serving as chimneys, and therefore visible from anywhere in the city, has witnessed many important moments connected with the history of Portugal. Here, King Afonso V left the world and was elected monarch of João II, Manuel I was informed of the discovery of new lands, and therefore of the expansion of the borders of his empire, hence King Sebastian went to his unsuccessful campaign. The Palace of Palacio Nacional was first read aloud by the poem "The Lusadians" written by "The Homer of Portugal" by the poet Luis Camoens.

 National Palace of Sintra Passo Real

The Royal Palace was rebuilt many times according to the tastes of its owners, who lived in different epochs. So now we see a building in which different architectural styles interwoven and mixed. In the Arab traditions, some halls of the palace are decorated, almost devoid of furniture and decorated with soft cushions. Wooden ceilings, carved panels on the walls, painted tiles, too, were created under the influence of the Moorish style. One of the most interesting rooms of the palace is the "Magpies Hall", the ceiling of which is decorated with the image of many magpies. This hall appeared in the palace not by chance. King John I, talking with the court ladies, gave cause for one of them to desire more. This immediately became the subject of palace gossip. Then the king called the painters and ordered them to paint on the ceiling a room  magpies, which would symbolize gossip. Thus, the ladies received an allegorical warning that their mouths should be kept closed.

The ceiling in the magpies hall in the palace of Pasu-Real

Fans of history will like the Armory Hall, whose walls are hung with the arms of the most notable families of Portugal.

The palace and park complex Pena

The road from the historical center of Sintra to the palace complex Pena, for which thousands of tourists come to the city every year, takes only 10 minutes by car or 50 minutes on foot.
The Pena Palace is built in a pseudo-medieval style on the Sera di Sintra rock and with its bizarre combination of bright eastern minarets, traditional towers of Europe towers, massive fortress walls, Renaissance lush portals, high bridges resemble a palace from a fairy tale. Its walls are painted in red and yellow tones, which only adds to its splendor and luxury.

Grand palace complex Pena in Sintra

The client of the palace is the prince of blood, the husband of the Portuguese Queen Mary II. As a basis for the new royal castle, an abandoned monastic complex was taken. Prince Ferdinand wanted to build a second Neuschwanstein in Portugal. Around the romantic castle was broken a large park, which brought plants from different parts of the Earth. In those days, the English style of parks was becoming fashionable, so now we see a lush tropical forest that seemed to be planted without any plan. In fact, while walking through the palace park you can see many picturesque corners, over which the best designers of that time worked.

Fantastic Pena Palace. The main entrance gate.

The palace is now turned into a museum, so you can see its perfectly preserved interiors from the XIX century.

Montserrat Palace

Among other attractions of Sintra, you can note the Montserrat palace, built in 1856 in Moorish style for wealthy magnate Francis Cook, who traded in cloth. An interesting visit will also be to the Capuchin abbey, dating back to the 16th century. The wonderful lavish manor of Quinta da Rigaleira once belonged to a coffee merchant named Antônio Monteiro, who was a mystic and a philosopher, supported the Masons, so he created a spiral staircase on the grounds of his estate, which goes down several floors to the ground. It was used to conduct various mysterious rites.

The palace of Montserrat is executed in the present Moorish style

The Mansion of Rigaleyr's Masons

The romantic manor of Quinta da Rigaleira is located not far from the center of Sintra. The road to it runs through a picturesque area, which in itself is a tourist attraction. If you do not want to wait for a shuttle bus, then you can walk to the farmstead on foot.
The Quinta da Rigaleira mansion was built in the 17th century, but at that time it was an ordinary house, devoid of those mysteries and flair of romance that brought to its face the most famous owner Antônio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro. A philosopher, a mason who is fond of esotericism, and just an extremely well-read and educated person, Monteiro completely transformed the estate he inherited, trying to turn it into a paradise. The funds allowed.

Rigalaire Palace in Sintra

So, the old house was demolished, and in its place appeared a new palace, built by the Italian Luigi Manini. The highlight of the mansion was considered a secret passage, connecting the master's quarters with remote places in the park that surrounded the estate. The magnificent park hid in itself a lot of riddles: each cave, each statue in it something symbolized. Religious beliefs of the owner and enthusiasm for various philosophical trends made it possible to create a unique space that still attracts lovers of esotericism. One of the most interesting places in the park is a well with a large spiral staircase overgrown with lush greenery. Previously, this place was used in Masonic rituals.

Well-staircase in the palace of Rigoleira

Unfortunately, the tour of the inner chambers of the palace will not be so cognitive. Almost all of the luxury items that belonged to Monteiro were lost.

Portuguese Versailles

The second Versailles is called the large palace complex in Queluz, which is located on the road connecting Lisbon with Sintra. The grand palace, built in the Rococo style, is surrounded by a picturesque French garden with curly-cut trees, straight alleys, fountain groups and sculptural compositions that cause admiration and surprise.
Today, the palace of Kelouch, once a summer royal residence, is open to visitors. In it, all the interiors have been beautifully preserved: visitors are pleased to inspect a large collection of furniture, a magnificent collection of paintings and other works of art.

Sintra, Palace of Kelouch - Palácio de Queluz

However, the most interesting is the design of the royal chambers, over which the famous local masters of the eighteenth century worked. Some halls, designed for solemn receptions, are decorated with luxurious stucco, narrow mirrors of Venetian work, fragile chandeliers made of rock crystal. Others - private chambers of the royal family - are decorated more restrained.
The palace complex of Kelouch became the property of the Portuguese crown, one can say, thanks to a lucky coincidence. Previously, the land on which this residence is located was owned by the aristocrat Krishtovan di More, who sympathized with the Spaniards dominating Portugal. After the liberation of the country from the yoke of Spain, di Moor lost all his property. His hunting lodge in Kelusha destroyed and built in his place a large palace.

The palace and park complex of Kelouch in Sintra. Palácio de Queluz

All these palaces and monasteries are surrounded by beautiful gardens, which are equipped with pedestrian paths that allow you to enjoy solitude and silence, and then with new strength to go to explore the treasures of Sintra.