Sintra: Day Trip from Lisbon – The Ultimate Guide

Sintra – the must-see day trip from Lisbon. You’ve probably seen it on every Lisbon blog post you’ve read – and for good reason. It is a stunning, fairytale-like town, with a much higher-than-average castle to person ratio. It can be difficult to navigate, so if you don’t know where to start, follow my guide to plan a perfect day trip from Lisbon to Sintra.

How to get there

The best way to travel from Lisbon to Sintra is by train. Trains go from Lisbon Oriente and Rossio stations every 30 minutes. Tickets can be bought at the ticket machines at the station and a single ticket costs 2,30€ (plus 0,50€ for the card itself). Remember to validate your card before you board the train.

Best ways to get around

Because Sintra is a relatively popular tourist destination, there are plenty of options when it comes to transportation. If you are planning on visiting multiple castles, the cheapest way is probably to get a bus pass for the tourist buses (lines 434 and 435). The buses run regularly and work like hop-on-hop-off buses. A 24-hour ticket costs 15€. With this ticket, you will be able to visit 6 castles (or as many as you are able to fit in during the day you’re here!). Another option is to take a private tuk-tuk, though I would recommend this if you are only planning to visit one or two castles. The drivers charge a standard fee, 10€, from Sintra station to any castle, and 5€ to return. I really enjoyed this, as you get a little private tour and the drivers are usually quite talkative and funny.

How long do you need in Sintra?

I originally planned to only spend one day in Sintra, but after that day, I felt like there was so much I hadn’t seen yet. If you really take your time exploring each castle and its gardens, it will definitely take more than one day to see all of the castles. It’s just a matter of what you really want to see. I ended up spending a second day on a combined trip to Cabo da Roca and Sintra. If you want to do this and visit 2-3 castles, I’d say arrive in Sintra in the morning and stay until late in the afternoon. This should give you enough time to see all you want to.

Which castles should you visit?

1. Pena Palace

Pena Palace is by far the most famous of all the castles. Known for its colourful architecture and beautiful gardens, it is usually the palace featured on souvenirs and postcards. It is even a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. Because it is the first place everyone wants to go when they visit Sintra, I would highly recommend booking your ticket in advance online here. But if you didn’t do that, there are ticket machines in front of the entrance. Make sure you stick to the time on your ticket, and don’t forget that it takes about 30 minutes to walk up to the castle from the entrance. After visiting the palace itself, you can use the signs all around the gardens to play a little scavenger hunt game – you even get a prize at the gift shop when you leave!

Although I thought that Pena Palace itself was beautiful and well worth the visit, the stand-out part for me was the garden. As you leave the grounds, there is a second entrance to the gardens, where the main feature is the huge duck pond. There is even a little island in the middle with a ‘duck house’. There were, of course, other little ponds with swans and sitting areas perfect for a picnic.

2. Quinta da Regaleira

Quinta da Regaleira is another popular site in Sintra. Its standout feature is Poço Imperfeito – the famous tower with a winding spiral staircase. I would recommend you visit this place first, as early as you can, because once the mid-morning crowds show up, you might have to wait an hour to enter the tower (just for a few rushed minutes). But you can also attempt to navigate the very hilly, very beautiful gardens. We found so many hidden corners exploring the grounds (and got lost a few times, too). Towards the end of your visit, you will get to the small chapel and the palace, where you will find some artifacts and history on the Portuguese royal family.

Tickets can be bought on the grounds, though I would, as usual, recommend buying these online ahead of time here. We had to wait in line for almost an hour because the sales were being processed very slowly. Meanwhile, there was another line for anyone with E-tickets which took about 5 seconds to get past. Just make sure to have the ticket available on your phone offline, because we had absolutely no reception at this point!

3. Moorish Castle

The Moorish Castle might have been my favourite place we visited in Sintra. Unlike the others, it does not have a palace; it is a fort. It has remained mostly untouched since the 8th century, when it was built. Here you will find, without a doubt, the most epic views of Sintra and the other castles. It is also less flooded with tourists than Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira. It is about a 5-minute walk from Pena Palace, so it is ideal to pair these two visits together. I don’t think that booking online is necesssary for this one, because the demand is much lower, and there are self-service ticket machines in front of the entrance to the grounds.

4. Montserrate Palace

We visited Montserrate Palace because we didn’t really know where else to go – but it was definitely worth the visit. It is definitely one of the most underrated Sintra sites – which just makes it that much better. It is so peaceful and the only noises you hear come from behind the bushes, because tourists tend to skip this place. First, you wander through the jungle-like gardens to get to the palace. The palace is more of a villa, so it is quite small, yet so unique. Unlike the other palaces, it has clear Islamic influences in its architecture, which I find so refreshing after visiting so many ‘samey’ European castles. After visiting the villa, you’ll get to a small rose garden and a ‘Mexican garden’ (which is just a couple of cactuses), but my favourite part was the ruins in the garden that we randomly found on our way back.

5. The National Palace

The National Palace is situated in the heart of the city. I would recommend walking back to the train station from here. It takes 15-20 minutes, and you are bound to come across street markets and performers. Of all the places we visited in Sintra, this was probably my least favourite. Not that I didn’t like it, I just felt like it was like every other European palace I have ever visited. It just doesn’t compare to the vast hilly gardens and unique palaces and chapels I saw at other sites. The most interesting part for me was, oddly enough, the kitchens. This is where those two towers are located, which the palace is known for. These go up incredibly high and used to function as a ventilation system, the tops being completely open. Oh, and of course, there was a room with a ceiling covered solely in swan portraits!

All in all, Sintra is a beautiful little oasis of wonder (and castles) that I could easily spend multiple days in. It is well worth the visit from Lisbon. Hopefully, my guide has given you a good idea of how you want to spend your time on your day trip to Sintra.