Introduction
29km (18 miles) NW of Lisbon
Writers have sung Sintra's praises ever since Portugal's national poet, Luís Vaz de Camões, proclaimed its glory in Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads). Lord Byron called it "glorious Eden" when he and John Cam Hobhouse included Sintra in their 1809 grand tour. English romantics thrilled to its description in Byron's autobiographical Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.
Picture a town on a hillside, with decaying birthday-cake villas covered with tiles coming loose in the damp mist. Luxuriant vegetation covers the town: camellias for melancholic romantics, ferns behind which lizards dart, pink and purple bougainvillea over garden trelliswork, red geraniums on wrought-iron balconies, eucalyptus branches fluttering in the wind, lemon groves, and honey-sweet mimosa scenting the air. But take heed -- some who visit Sintra fall under its spell and stay forever.
Sintra is one of the oldest towns in the country. When the crusaders captured it in 1147, they fought bitterly...
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Gruta da Fada
- Sintra's ridge is truly enchanting, due not only to its overwhelming variety of wild and colorful flora, but also to the massive rocks that decorate...
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- Landmarks
- Nile Expert Tip: Fada means fairy, ask about the legends around this cave.
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Palácio Nacional de Sintra
- Better known as 'Palácio da Vila', this monument lies in Sintra's historical center. It's one of the symbols of this romantic village, due to its...
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- Landmarks
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Parque da Pena
- The entrance to Pena's park can be found through the palace's garden, or next to the Pena's road, where there is a more accessible gate. This park...
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- Picnics, Parks & Gardens
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