We wake and have a good nourishing breakfast before heading out to the UNESCO World Heritage Pena Palace that apparently inspired Disney’s fairy-tale castles… and is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. We have tickets for this one so as not to wait in long queues as this is what the majority of people come to Sintra to see. There are huge crowds everywhere bustling for position to try to get the perfect picture… or two… or hundred 🙄.

The Palace is of course located high on a hill and stands out for its bold colours and whimsical shapes… an eclectic blend of Neo-Gothic, Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Islamic styles and from its location provides a wonderful lookout point. 

The colourful eclectic terraces are a highlight of Sintra- all the dreamy pictures I had seen while researching this place, came to life right there on the terraces of Pena Palace.

The terraces uniqueness is due to the colourful and unusual palette mix of yellow, red, blue and white.

There were pretty yellow arches…

…exquisite onion domes and a plethora of interesting sculptures…

… a very crowded chapel with stunning details…

… plus gorgeous views of the valley and the Moorish castle. And did I mention crowds? 

It was cold and windy being so high and so we continued on down and walked some of the stunning and huge palace grounds and then up again to Cruz Alta… from where Google had said you get a good view of the palace. Wrong! There are only glimpses through the trees…

…but there was a lovely view and a large cross marking the hill. 

There is always more to see but limited time and limited leg power… yes I was really feeling it today after our big day yesterday. So instead of exploring the gardens further, we moved onto our final destination… the Castle of the Moors… and inevitably it is VERY high on a hill. Built in the 10th century by the Moors, this castle was once a strategic viewing point. We hiked up through stunning huge boulders and greenery

… to the fort walls and the views were just amazing.

I found a second wind to climb right to the top… which was at this stage, very difficult but worth the effort. Wow!

Stunning views of the valley, rolling hills and the Atlantic Ocean in the distance. And Pena Palace. 

And then the climb down… kind of scary and very hard on the knees with so many stairs. 

We make it back to the entrance and try to get a Bolt home but it seems impossible so we decide to walk down. I know I joke about everything being uphill both ways but for anyone with bad knees you will know that the downhill is actually much harder than the up… and the walk down is much more full on than we realised. I really struggle although we do walk through a stunning garden full of climbing roses and other blooms… and gorgeous views.

When we do finally reach Sintra town, Anne continues on to our B&B to pick up some medication and I find a find a lovely family run restaurant for a nice long lunch. We had passed and commented on this place yesterday and I realise that it is also on my list of recommendations- Tascantiga. I sit with a wonderful glass of wine and peruse the traditional tapas menu while I wait for Anne to return. We are hoping for a long late lunch as there is nothing else planned for this town… so I am disappointed when the owner tells me they close at 4… which is in about 40 minutes… and Anne isn’t back yet. When she does arrive we enjoy an excellent authentic meal of Portuguese tapas with a creative take and wine. Exactly what we needed… if a little rushed.

Sintra- a place full of history, beauty, mystery and pure magic. And of course any magical place has the danger of over tourism… which sadly really is an issue here with traffic jams everywhere and wall to wall people at any of the main tourist locations, which can be uncomfortable, frustrating and overwhelming. Despite this, it really is magical in many ways… a fairytale land perhaps more than anywhere I have been… nothing quite seems real and it’s definitely worth the negatives that inevitably come with visiting tourist destinations like this one. 

And so we move on…