Note: My 100th blog post! When I started blogging a few years ago, I never thought of reaching this milestone. I’m happy to have reached here and hope to continue this pleasurable journey, with the support of all you readers. 😊
Sintra and Cascais – we simply had to check out these two charming towns before wrapping up our month-long tour of Portugal and Spain.
We avoid staying within city limits wherever possible, and hence we were looking out for a suitable base that would be away from the bustle and yet close enough to these two towns, and we found it – in Colares, a seaside nook next to the Praia Grande.
Colares turned out to be a great base, the perfect location from which to explore Sintra and Cascais, both of which were well within an hour’s drive from our base.
We did day trips to Sintra and Cascais – both charming towns offering unique experiences.
Sintra has so many attractions that two days were just not enough to see them all but we made a choice of what was of interest to us.
SINTRA
The fairy tale city of Sintra (a UNESCO world heritage site) has historical castles with verdant gardens.
We started our Sintra tour by first parking our car in a secure parking slot. As you could expect, Sintra, like many densely built-up small towns, has narrow roads and parking is hard to find.
Uncharacteristically, we took a 2-hour Tuk-Tuk road trip that gave us an overview of Sintra. Our plan was to quickly scan the various places of interest in the town during the tuk-tuk ride, and then decide which attractions merited a longer, and more detailed visit.
The driver-cum-guide took us to about a dozen top attractions, and his short lectures on the historical facts and stories of each place gave us a good overview of the sights worth seeing in Sintra.
Sintra offers you palaces, castles, and mysterious gardens, provided you are ready to walk up and down steep slopes, climb endless steps and tackle uneven road surfaces.
Here are some of the places we enjoyed exploring:
Quinta da Regaleira
This is a huge property with a palace and a chapel, amidst a massive garden. There are fountains, wells, small lakes, grottoes, and towers. It was a bit like the good old Alice in Wonderland. We explored the park with its maze-like paths full of colourful plants and trees.
The palace was built in Gothic style and decorated with many ornaments, pinnacles, and gargoyles. The rooms are decorative too, with carved wooden ceilings.
In the middle of the park is an ‘Initiation well’. You can go down the circular stairs which leads to a tunnel and further to another unfinished well. There are stories of rituals performed in these wells.
Pena Palace and Gardens
Once the summer home of the Portuguese royalty, Pena Palace (together with its gardens) is easily Sintra’s most visited site.
The palace is a huge, red-n-yellow and gaudy colored structure featuring several forms of architecture – Neo-gothic, neo- Manueline, neo-Islamic and neo-Renaissance.
It is certainly impossible to see all of it in a few hours, but we spent almost 3 hours here trying to cover what we could.
Some highlights of the Pena Palace and its gardens
The Impressive Triton gate: this is truly a grand entrance that features a mythical half-man and half-fish (like the male version of a mermaid). This is a popular spot for tourists to take a picture.
The 200-hectare park around the palace offers an amazing opportunity to wander around amidst tall trees (Cedar and Sequoia), lakes, grottoes, winding paths and rocks. There are bridges, benches and garden nooks, too. Here and there you will find small structures shaped as temples and churches, and also fountains, columns, and small ponds where ducks and water fowls frolic.
The best thing to do is just walk along the wall. We enjoyed the grand view of the surroundings and some parts of the castle itself including the Moorish castle.
Old Historic center of Sintra
This is the must-do thing in Sintra – walk around the narrow streets of the historic centre. Shops and cafes add to the charm although it can be a bit crowded here and there. Overall, a lovely experience!
Palacio de Seteais
Seteais Palace was built in 1783 and features two wings connected by a triumphal arch. You can get a good glimpse of Pena Palace at a distance through this arch!
It was home to aristocrats for many years and in 1953, it was turned into a luxurious hotel.
Fonta da Sabuga
Sabuga fountain is known for its fresh spring water and is open to the public.
This little fountain, dating back to 1757, displays a Baroque design with an interesting blue and yellow design around a solar motif.
CASCAIS
Yes, Portugal has an amazingly pretty coastline, and at Cascais you will find one of the best stretches of beach alongside the deep blue waters of the Atlantic. The cliffs here are quite high and feature some unusual natural wonders.
Boca do Inferno
One of the most famous natural attractions in Cascais, Boca do Inferno is a dramatic cliff formation where the rugged Atlantic waves crash against the rocks, creating caves and unique sliced cliffs – a spectacular view. A great spot for sunset viewing and photography.
It has a convenient parking arrangement and several cafes and restaurants.
Cabo do Roca
This is the most western spot in continental Europe.
Historically, even from the Roman times, it has been an important place for sailors. The views are panoramic – especially from 140 meters above the sea.
It has one of the oldest lighthouses on the Portuguese coast. Dating from 1772 and automated since 1990, Cabo da Roca lighthouse is still operational today, guarding the entire Atlantic coastline.
Praia Grande
We were lucky in our choice of accommodation. We had an unrestricted view of the sea from the deck of our apartment, with the added bonus of watching paragliders floating far above the water. Besides, very close by we found an easy walking path leading to the steps that went down to the beach, where we saw the huge ‘dinosaur footsteps’ on the vertical rocks of the cliffs.
Alas, all lovely holidays must come to an end, and eventually we had to pack up and take the short drive to Lisbon airport for the long flight home.
Ah well…..maybe we will be back here another time. But, there are so many more places to see!
I absolutely loved exploring Sintra, but I haven’t been to Cascais yet, so it’s definitely on my list. It looks beautiful.
Earlier this summer I also went on day trips to both sintra and Cascais and can’t recommend them enough! Definitely two of the best places to visit in Southern Portugal!
Congratulations on your 100th blog post! The palaces look spectacular. I really want to see Quinta da Regaleira. Thanks for sharing.
You visited some of our favorite Cascais and Sintra spots. I’d highly recommend also visiting Praia da Ursa and Convento dos Capuchos in Sintra next time you visit.
Congratulations on blog post number 100! What a lot of fascinating places you have visited and shared with us! This is another one that will have to go on our must-see list.
Both places are stunning, but I’m more drawn to the coastal beauty of Cascais. Sintra is fairy-tale charming for sure.
I am heading to Portugal in November. I will add these two gems to my agenda. They both look great. Thank you for the insight. I like your insider tip of staying in Colares as a central location between both sites!
What a fantastic guide to Sintra and Cascais! Southern Portugal has been on my list for a while, and your post just bumped it way up. The Quinta da Regaleira sounds absolutely incredible, especially the mysterious “Initiation well.” I can’t wait to explore that maze-like park for myself one day. Thanks for the inspiration!
I have visited both towns and really enjoyed them. Sintra is like a fairytale with a historic vibe. We also accidentally visited Cabo de Roca because we got off the bus in the wrong place, but thoroughly enjoyed hiking there.
I’ve only had a chance to explore a small section of Portugal. Both cities are beautiful…no need to choose. See them both.
I have only had the chance to spend a very brief time in Lisbon, but I’m defintely adding these two cities to my must visit list, especially with their UNESCO status. Great guide, thanks for sharing.
We’ve only been to the North of Portugal, but Sintra is definitely on the list for a return visit. And Cascais looks spectacular also. The palace and other buildings in Sintra have something fairytale like about them.
We took a day-trip to Sintra from Lisbon and we absolutely loved it. We wish we’d stayed for a few days actually. Haven’t had the time to visit Cascais though, but would love to return to see the coast too.
Sintra is my dream travel destination. There are so many attractions to visit. I suppose I need to spend at least a couple of days to see all of them.
Cabo di Roca is also a perfect gateway for those who prefer natural landscapes.
I absolutely love Portugal, but have yet to go to Sintra – but I’d love to see it when I return.
Gosh it looks like there is so much to see between these two places. Thank you for breaking everything down. It’ll make itinerary planning so much easier.