\n Sally left the UK around two years ago to start a new life
\n in Portugal. She lives in a suburb of Lisbon, close
\n to the sea and is now a TEFL teacher, teaching English to
\n Portuguese children and adults. This is an account
\n of Sintra.\n <\/p>\n
\n Sintra was poetically described by Lord Byron as
\n “this glorious Eden”. It was declared by
\n UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is easy to get
\n to Sintra by train from the Estação do
\n Rossio station, opening onto Praça de Dom Pedro IV,
\n or the Rossio, where frequent connections can be made. The
\n one-way fare from Lisbon to Cascais, Estoril, or Sintra is
\n 1.25€ to 2.50€ ($1.45-$2.90) per person.
\n There is also a bus from Lisbon. You can drive, as
\n Sally did, but it’s a difficult and tortuous road,
\n as she found out!\n <\/p>\n
\n The original Sintra is not large to visit but it now
\n includes two outlying areas named Estefânia and
\n São Pedro. As the older part sits on granite slope
\n it is best seen on foot or by a horse-drawn
\n carriage. The town is dominated by the two conical
\n chimneys of the Palácio Nacional da Vila that was
\n the summer home of the royal family since the 15th
\n Century. Scattered on the hillside are several
\n historical buildings, including the Palácio da
\n Pena, a 19th Century recreation of different styles
\n admired by Dom Fernando II, the German husband of the
\n young Portuguese Queen Maria II, and this example often
\n regarded as a failed attempt to create his own romantic
\n revival.\n <\/p>\n
\n The castle stands high on the southeast side of the
\n mountain range whilst overlooking the village are the
\n ruined ramparts of the Castelo dos Mouros, a fort dating
\n from the 8th Century. Within it is an ancient
\n Moorish cistern and the panoramic view from its walls is
\n impressive. There are several churches in the town and the
\n most interesting is the 12th Century Igreja de Santa Maria
\n rebuilt in 1755 after the earthquake. Several
\n private palaces are open to the public amongst which are
\n the Palácio de Seteais, a magnificent 18th Century
\n home built for the fifth Marquês de Marialva, and
\n later converted into a five star Hotel; Casa dos
\n Ribafrias, a 16th Century building once belonging to the
\n Marquês de Pombal; Quinta de Pena Verde, another
\n 16th Century palace; and the Palácio de Monserrate
\n built in the 19th Century by Francis Cook and influenced
\n by the architectural work of Nash. Another
\n interesting place is the Convento dos Capuchos, an unusual
\n hermitage founded in 1560 with tiny dwarf cells cut from
\n the rock. Within the old town there are several
\n museums, Museu de Brinquedo showing only toys from the
\n past and present, the Museu Regional retelling the history
\n of the area with items and artefacts and sometimes also
\n holding art exhibitions, Casa Museu Leal de Câmara
\n devoted the works of the artist, Casa Museu Dorita Castel
\n Branco also devoted to works of the sculptress, Museu de
\n Arte Moderna, Galeria de Arte Municipal de Sintra, Centro
\n International de Escultura, Museu de Arqueologia
\n São Miguel de Odrinhas, Museu Renato L. Garcia,
\n Atelier Museu de Anjos Teixeira and Museu Ferreira de
\n Castro.\n <\/p>\n
\n Here is Sally’s account of her recent trip to
\n Sintra.\n <\/p>\n
\n Went up to the Pena Palace in Sintra – this is the
\n one that you often see on the rare bit of publicity for
\n Portugal. It looks that something that the mad King
\n of Bavaria might have built. All different shapes
\n and designs in yellow and various other colours. I
\n drove up the Sintra mountains – not a very nice
\n drive as the road is a cobbled three quarter width one
\n with drops at one side, pot holes and because the weather
\n was atrocious, and the road is heavily wooded, it was a
\n bit like something out of Lord of the Rings in
\n atmosphere. There is now a very unusual bus that
\n takes you up to the palace (thank goodness). It is
\n obviously a vintage one as it has lovely wall lights and
\n wooden seats and makes slightly heavy weather of climbing
\n up the incline.\n <\/p>\n
\n The palace is pretty much the same – quite a
\n fascinating place as it is exactly like it was when the
\n Royal Family used to stay there in the summers before they
\n left for exile. There is only about four staff
\n looking after all the rooms – very different to
\n visiting a National Trust property in the UK.
\n Unfortunately because the weather was so dire, the views
\n were not visible – when I went last time the views
\n were incredible – but it’s still worth
\n going. In fact when I drive to work in Cacem on
\n Tuesdays and Thursdays I can just see the Palace in
\n certain places on the drive. The whole of the Sintra
\n area is very magical anyway.\n <\/p>\n
\n Another great place to visit is Cabo da Roca – the
\n furthest western point of Europe. Always guaranteed
\n to be a tad breezy and again great views out to sea.
\n Gives you an idea of how brave those explorers were in the
\n olden days and why they thought they would fall off the
\n edge of the world. ![\"Cabo](\"https:\/\/globetrotters.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/pictures\/enews-12-04-image008.jpg\")
\n <\/p>\n
\n Just nearby is a lovely restaurant\/bar in a converted
\n Windmill. It is quite unusual as there are so many
\n different places and corners to sit when the weather is
\n fine. It has the odd waterfall here and there and
\n some ponds with frogs and goldfish. Inside it has a
\n conservatory type front and then two rooms. All
\n beautifully decorated in wood with lots of lamps.
\n Equally nice on a wet and cold day as on a hot and sunny
\n one. It’s one of those places you have to be
\n taken to by a local to know about it. A
\n friend’s mother and father took me years ago and I
\n always wondered where it was and then found it by accident
\n a few months ago and really enjoy taking people to it.\n <\/p>\n