Sintra - bus trip around the area
The best way to get from Lisbon to Sintra is by train from the Rossio station. You can pay for the fare with a city travel card, only a little more will be charged from it than for a regular metro ride, a little more than 2 euros.
There is a "Sightseeing Bus" kiosk right at the exit of the Sintra train station. Although it is more expensive than ordinary public transport, it is much more convenient. On it, you can move from one attraction immediately to another, and not return to the city, and change to another bus to the next point.
But it is worth remembering that not double-decker, but small buses run around Sintra, where passengers are taken strictly by seats. And if no one got off at some stop near a small attraction, and there are no empty seats on the bus, then it will be impossible to get on this bus, and you will have to wait for the next one, this is about half an hour. But near iconic landmarks such as Quinta de Regaleira, Cape Roca or Pena Palace, people are always getting out, so there are places to go further.
First we went to Quinta de Regaleira Palace. We were a little unlucky with the weather, the day was overcast and drizzling with light rain, but on the other hand, there was no queue at the ticket office, we immediately bought tickets and went to explore the palace park. Even on a rainy day, it is worth allocating at least three hours to the palace, and especially to the park. I really liked the palace itself, the turrets in the park, and especially the 27-meter Well of Initiation.
After Quinta we went to Cape Roca, the westernmost point in Europe. Here it is enough to take a picture near the memorial stele with the coordinates of the cape, and take a walk along the ocean.
And the third attraction is Pena Palace. Here we were again helped by a light rain - there was no queue at the ticket office, and we quickly got to the palace. Here it is better to save a little and buy a ticket only to the park, without the premises of the palace. To get inside, you already have to stand in line at the entrance, you move around in the crowd, and you can’t take pictures. Outside, the palace and the park are much more interesting.
