Portugal: the palaces of Sintra, the ocean and the end of the world Part 1.

04 July 2019 • Travel time: with 08 June 2019 on 08 June 2019

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. . . Why do we choose exactly those areas that are of particular interest to us? Apparently, there is something alluring in each of them. Something that, like a tuning fork, touches the strings of our soul, and we respond and echo it in the same tone.

One of these tempting destinations for us was Portugal.

" I would like to see this beauty with my own eyes.

Where to begin? We had to prioritize.

At first, we thought to stop in Lisbon and make sightseeing trips from there, since it’s only half an hour by train to Sintra, and Cape Roca is not far from there.

Most tourists do just that.

But it turned out that in addition to the well of Initiation, there are many other beauties in Sintra.

Sintra is a picturesque town among the green hills of the Sierra da Sintra, in the past a favorite vacation spot of Portuguese kings and Lisbon nobility.

Luxurious palaces, mansions and parks of Sintra have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and thousands of tourists visit it every year.

The Pena National Palace is one of the most beautiful palaces in Europe,

Pena Castle

The mystical manor of Quinta da Regaleira,

Quinta da Regaleira Palace

Montserrat Palace with a beautiful park,

Montserrat Palace

Castle of the Moors

View of the Castle of the Moors

This is just a part of the sights that we have included in our must-see program.

And you also need to visit the ocean, see the most beautiful ocean beaches and, of course, Cape Roca.

And it became clear that it was impossible to embrace all this in one day.

A plan was ripened: to settle for a few days in Sintra, without haste to inspect the palaces, and then move to a hotel on the ocean for a week.

We calculated how many days it takes to see everything and relax, and at the same time fit into the budget.

It turned out that the trip will take 11 days: 3 days to Sintra and 8 days to the ocean.

— And we all know that it is not so simple, it is necessary that the rebus converges: the dates are needed, and the number of days, and the availability of rooms in exactly the hotels where we wanted to stay. The puzzle came together on the third try. For the first time, tickets were found, but at the time of payment, the bank was reinsured and blocked payment by card on a foreign site. While unblocked - tickets left. The second time there were no places in one of the selected hotels, and I did not want another. Here is a review about the hotel, don't be lazy - read it and you will understand why I wanted only in this one.

Sintra Jardin Hotel Villa

And only on the third attempt everything came together, a month before departure. Well, well, then we are still flying to Portugal!

We are flying to Lisbon. And immediately upon arrival (we flew with small backpacks), we take the metro right at the airport (before that, we master the purchase of a travel card in a machine), we go to one of the railway stations. train stations (Orienti), only three stops from the airport,

Orienti Station in Lisbon

and from there by direct train to 22.00 we arrive in Sintra. We walk to the hotel.

Mansions in Sintra

Beautiful mountain air with amazing smells of coniferous plants accompanies us all the way to the hotel. The road takes 15 minutes to walk along the charming streets with old mansions

Ancient streets of Sintra

and from everywhere opening views of the castle of the Moors in the evening illumination.

If you want to feel like aristocrats, stay in Sintra. And even better in this hotel!

The garden of our villa

When we went out for breakfast in the morning, the charm and atmosphere of the hotel, the view from the terrace to the castle of the Moors,

Terrace of Sintra Jardin Hotel

The super friendly attitude of the staff, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice, charged us with positive energy for the whole day!

Our hotel was very conveniently located in relation to the palaces of Sintra.

The Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira could be reached on foot from the hotel in a maximum of 20 minutes.

On the first day we moved to Pena Palace.

Pena Castle Clock Tower

We always read reviews (including those about visiting the Pena Palace), and many of them say that the interiors of the palace are not worth the time and money spent.

The interior of Pena Palace

Of course, how many heads, so many minds. But, in our opinion - a must see!

Hall of Pena Palace

Yes, not the Louvre! But still, the spirit of aristocracy and royal chic

Hunting Hall in Pena Castle

is present in all details.

Beautiful foam palace ceilings

It is interesting to watch how they drank tea in the tea room, according to the etiquette, divided into two parts - for the king

Tea room. Half a king.

and queens.

Tea room. Half queen.

I wonder what kind of beds they slept on

Royal bedroom in Pena Palace

(we noticed that the royals of that time were obviously short) and you can even see what kind of bathrooms they used.

Royal bath in Pena Palace

And what a charming courtyard of the palace - the cloister!

Cloister of Pena Castle

Gargoyles sit guarding the royal peace.

Gargoyles guard the royal peace

Portugal is famous for the art of azulejos.

Everything that can be tiled with peculiar patterns is tiled. The same applies to the walls of the palace and the cloister.

Carefully and calmly, without crowding, having examined the palace,

Royal cuisine of Pena Palace

Let's go for a walk along its terraces

The main gate in Pena Castle

and territories.

Triton's Arch in Pena Castle

The Atlantic Ocean is visible in the distance.

View of Pena Palace from the highest point of the park

The palace has a chic park.

Bronze warrior on top of a hill in Pena Park

It contains exotic plants from many parts of the world.

Pena Palace Park

What smells there!

Amazing orange poppies grow in the Pena Palace park

We walked in it for 6 hours! And we are not tired! We looked at the palace from the highest points of the park,

The highest point of the Pena park

walked near the lakes,

Cascade of lakes in Pena Park

and also visited the chalet of Countess Edla.

Countess Edla's Chalet

(Tourist note: an electronic ticket costs the same as a regular ticket at the palace ticket office - 14 euros per person, but, unlike a regular ticket, it gives the right to visit the chalet at no additional cost).

Countess Edla's chalet was built by King Ferdinand II in the western part of the park.

A few years after the death of Queen Mary, King Ferdinand II met Eliza Hensler. She was an opera singer, spoke seven languages fluently, was fond of botany and gardening, and painted. After ten years of dating, they got married. The royal family did not approve of this union. Upon marriage, Eliza received the title of Countess of Edla. For her sake, the king gave up the throne. And he lived with her until old age.

The chalet is interesting because its interior decoration,

The interior of Countess Edla's chalet, made of cork oak

as well as some exterior details

Exterior decoration of the chalet of Countess Edla

Made from cork oak. I must say that in Europe, Portugal is the only country that has learned how to process cork oak. The art of processing cork oak has only improved over the years. Previously, they decorated the interiors of palaces,

Interiors of Countess Edla's chalet

and now they make bags, wallets and belts from this material. Cork oak does not get wet, and therefore such things exist for a very long time.

After passing the entire park, we move towards the hotel. The way back is a bit longer, along the serpentine. But how friendly the Portuguese are! Passing by cars and tuk tuks, they wave their hand in greeting and smile. In general, all the people we met on this trip are amazingly friendly and helpful. They stop themselves, ask what problems they have, how they can help, if they see that tourists are looking around in confusion and at the map. Almost everyone speaks excellent and understandable English.

And if they don't speak, then they try so hard to help that you will understand them anyway.

We wanted to combine sightseeing with relaxation. Therefore, in the first half of the day we examined the palaces, and in the second half we sunbathed near the pool in our villa.

Sintra Jardin villa park and pool

In the evening, having bought a bottle of the amazing Portuguese light sparkling "Vino Verde" (green wine), we rested on the common terrace, where the hotel staff arranged sun loungers, fleece blankets and portable lamps with a candle inside. And how beautiful is the Castle of the Moors in the evening illumination! The eye does not get tired of looking at it!

View from our villa on the Castle of the Moors

Tomorrow we leave for Quinta da Regaleira.

Continued here

Translated automatically from Russian. View original