Blogs from Sintra, Lisbon & Tagus Valley, Portugal, Europe - page 4

Geo: 38.7985, -9.3881This afternoon I went on a little half day tour out of Lisbon to Sintra. Here I visited the National Palace.... read more

Today was spent day tripping out of Lisbon to the historic town of Sintra where the Portugese Royals spent their summers and the sea-side resort of Cascais with its expansive beaches and lovely quaint village ambiance. After 8 hours of walking up and down hills, we are starting to realize how hilly Portugal is. Will we be able to keep up the pace? Hopefully, Spain and Morocco are flatter! Pena Palace was an amazing castle and the surrounding park was spectacular with tropical, mediterranean and desert foliage- the ramparts could be quite frightening at times, where we were often afraid of falling over the edge of the turrets and tumbling down the side of the mountain. Beautiful tiles and detailed carvings covered the walls and ceilings of the palace. Dipping our toes in the Atlantic Ocean ... read more

Well, I loved Sintra . It is a great little town about 28 km from Lisbon. After arriving in Lisbon in the early morning of May 13, I immediately took a train to Sintra and, thanks to the train conductor, I found some great accommodation adjacent to the train station . In the end, I stayed four nights so will happily act as Australia’s ambassador for Sintra having seen all of it! I walked through the hills up to the Moorish Castle and then to a bizarre eclectic castle known as Pena Palace. So many different styles and mostly should just be described as over the top. Also climbed the highest peak in Sintra, Alta Cruz, at 529m. Not really a warm up for Mt Kilimanjaro! I took a bus trip to Cabo de Roca, the ... read more