6/22/17: Lisbon Day 3, a side trip to Sintra

With our last full day in Portugal ahead of us, we decided to take a day trip to Sintra, which everyone, including the venerable Rick Steves, seems to recommend. Sintra is the town where nobility and Portuguese Kings of old went to leave Lisbon. There were also ruins from a tenth century Moorish castle.

The two main sights were the palace and the castle and both are very high up from the historic town center, so we decided to take the bus up and hike back down the mountain on our return. The first sight we hit was the Moorish castle, which began with a display of ancient artifacts, including a dice carved from bone in the tenth century.

 

The ruins themselves are incredibly well preserved, with two levels of walls remaining and a large stretch of rampart tourists can climb. From the top we were treated to spectacular views as well as a view of the pena palace from afar, which would be our next step.

 

 

 

The pena palace is an eighteenth-century castle that, again, is right out of Dr. Seuss. We were able to see the Moorish castle we had just visited in the distance. The picture below is of the dining room, which workers were cleaning while we visited.

 

 

 

 


On the way down the mountain, we passed a house where Hans Christian Anderson once stayed, and the town had erected a plaque in his honor.

 

In the evening we ate at an organic restaurant that opened just six months ago and is already so popular they are turning people away. We were lucky enough to get in without a reservation! We will be sad to leave the city tomorrow. Portugal has been a highlight of our trip. The people are incredibly friendly, the food is wonderful, and the Lisbon has a charm that will be hard to beat. We can't wait to return and see more of the country.

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 23, 2017 at 8:56 AM

    Looks like we may have to go to Sintra when we return to Lisboa.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJune 26, 2017 at 6:17 AM

    Loving the laughs in front of the castle! Looks like an adult sized lego set!

    ReplyDelete

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