Sintra

Sintra is what I imagine Disneyland to be like but with fewer costumed teens and vomiting children. There are just so many castles and all of them are completely unique from each other. The largest and most prominant, Palacio da Pena, was commissioned by King Ferdinand II in 1842 and is a romantic mix of Portuguese gothic and Moorish styles of architecture. It is very much someone's 'idea' of what a castle should look like. We took a bus to reach the hill top where the Hieronymite monastery, turned fantasy palace sits.

 

 

 

The Palace of Pena occupies the second highest point in the Santra hills. From the cartoonish battlements we had a clear view of the Moorish Castle which we visited later that day. 

Park of Pena was also designed by King Ferdinand to have winding paths, pavilions and hidden seating areas. The park has over five hundred different species of trees, gathered from all over the world, as well as a variety of different styled gardens.

 Having your own castle wasn't enough for King Ferdinand II, he needed a castle for his ducks too.

The Moorish Castle ruins were our next stop. Castelo dos Mouros was restored in the 19th century by Ferdinand to be a romantic extension of the gardens of the Pena Palace. Think the Portuguese castle equivalent of Tintern Abbey.

 

It was a very windy day so walking along the narrow battlements was a bit nerve racking for those of us who don't appreciate heights. 

The last castle that we had time to see on our day trip was a 19th century gothic mansion called Quinta da Regaleira. We didn't have time to go inside because we spent close to two hours exploring the elaborate gardens surrounding the mansion. Underneath the gardens are an extensive series of tunnels which connect to grottoes, a chapel, caves, waterfalls and wells.

The "Initiation Well" was probably the highlight of the gardens. It's like an inverted tower, and apparently it may have been used for ceremonial purposes that included Tarot initiation rites. connects to other tunnels via a series of underground walkways.

We finished our day at a wine bar before taking the train back to Lisbon.