Castles · Tour

Private Sintra, Pena at 500 Metres and Cascais Fishing Since the Twelfth Century

A private day that starts in the historic centre of Sintra, in the old streets, with the National Palace of Sintra standing in the middle of them. Then the Pena Palace, built on a rock at 500 metres and looking down over the whole coast as far as Lisbon. The building is a Moorish and Manueline mixture, and the position is half the reason it works. The Quinta da Regaleira is the other palace, and it is a different kind of visit. The estate was built as a system of symbols and metaphors, so what you are walking through is an argument rather than a garden. After Sintra, Cabo da Roca, where the land ends and the sea begins. The route passes the Boca do Inferno, the mouth of hell, on the way into Cascais, a fishing village since the twelfth century and well kept since. The drive back to Lisbon follows the coast through Estoril, past the beaches.