Private Sintra with a Guide Who Grew Up There, as Far as Azenhas do Mar

Sintra

Sintra Railway Station, the last stop on the line from Lisbon to Sintra.

Quinta da Regaleira

A Neo-Manueline and Romantic Revival palace from the late 19th century, with an eclectic architecture and a stage design by Luigi Manini: the Initiation Well, the Waterfall, the lakes and the labyrinth of grottoes. All of it built to the mind of its owner, Augusto Carvalho, a scholar of ancient languages and a collector of rare books and sacred art. Important: get in touch with the guide in advance, so the tickets can be sorted out. The visit takes about 1 hour 30, and often longer, because this is the second most visited monument in Sintra. Important: in high season, from May to October, this visit may not happen at all, because of the limited parking near the entrance. If you want it, buy the tickets at least 2 weeks ahead, for the 10:00, 10:30 or 11:00 slot.

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Centro Historico de Sintra

The historic centre of Sintra, the most romantic town in Portugal, with its viewpoints, its fountains and the pastries that exist nowhere else. The Ginginha is worth trying while you are there. This is the free part of the day. The guide can point you to the traditional restaurants if you want lunch. The National Palace of Sintra is here too, with over 1,000 years of history behind it.

Two incredible viewpoints at the Enlightenment Palace of…

Two remarkable viewpoints at the Enlightenment Palace of Sintra, now a hotel with a classic register. Pena Palace is seen from here at an angle almost nobody photographs it from.

Parque e Palacio de Monserrate

A palace and an English Romantic garden, the building by James Knowles and commissioned by Francis Cook, the garden by William Stockdale and the most exotic in Sintra. The Cook and Claflin household is remembered for throwing the most stylish parties in the Sintra of their day. Worth the stop if plants interest you. Get in touch to build your own version of the day.

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Magnificent palace designed by José Luis Monteiro

A palace designed by José Luis Monteiro, its interiors decorated by several architects, Luigi Manini among them, with a history both tragic and unresolved.

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Azenhas do Mar

Azenhas do Mar, a village built onto the cliffs of the Sintra coast. White houses stacked down the rock in terraces, the Atlantic below, and streets narrow enough to walk end to end in ten minutes. Good local food, and the view along the coastline that ends up on everyone's camera.

Park and National Palace of Pena

Often called a Disney palace, Pena is the first Romantic palace in Europe and works on all five senses at once. It was the project of Ferdinand II, the Artist King and a pioneer of Romanticism, who fell for the microclimate of the Sintra hills and their granite, bought the monastery in 1838 and rebuilt it as a palace in Hispano-Islamic, Indo-Islamic and Manueline styles. Important: in high season this visit is always crowded. To take the palace at your own pace, the Garden and Terraces ticket (12€) is the better buy, and it includes the old monastery. For the interior, buy the ticket for 4, 4.30 or 5 PM. Important: a group that wants both the Quinta da Regaleira and the interior of Pena will not fit every listed stop into the day. Get in touch and the itinerary can be adjusted.

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Castelo dos Mouros

A wall built by the Moors in the 9th century, with a 360-degree view over Sintra, Lisbon, Cascais and Mafra. The Church of San Pedro de Canaferim is inside it, free to enter, now an interpretation centre holding pieces of the old Islamic quarter and the finds from the excavations of 2009 to 2013, which turned up evidence of Neolithic occupation from the 5th millennium BC. Note: with the wall included, the visit takes about an hour. Get in touch to build the day around it.

Cabo Da Roca

Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of Europe and a protected landscape since 1995. Cliffs, broken rock and the Atlantic on three sides. For the Romans who lived in Sintra until the 5th century this was the edge of the known world, the place where the land stopped and the ocean took over. Panoramic views, a permanent wind, and the photographs that come with both.

Cascais

Cascais, the Portuguese Riviera, the coastal town where the noble families started spending their summers in the second half of the 19th century.