Sintra

In Lisbon Downtown right off the train station of Cais Sodre.

A Sintra-based company that offers all types of rental bicycles as well as guided and self-guided road or mountain bike Day Trips in the Sintra area. They will also deliver a hire bike to your hotel anywhere in the Lisbon / Sintra area. There shop is located just outside the historical center of Sintra.

Provides guided mountain bike tours in Sintra as well as an Ericeira to Cabo da Roca bike tour across the Sintra Natural Park coastline.

Beautiful example of pseudo-Moorish Romantic architecture. You can walk there from Sintra in about an hour (uphill!) or catch a bus. You can see a good collection of furniture and the royal apartments. Tickets are sold on a timed basis. Arrive at the park 30 min before your ticket time so that you can walk up to the palace. You will not get a refund if you miss your time. Surrounding the palace is a huge park which is much quieter, and can be explored on foot or by a small tourist train service. The Chalet decorated with bark is particularly worth visiting, and the greenhouses, stables and lakes are pleasant. 15% discount if you purchase online at least 3 days in advance.

One of the highlights of Sintra not to be missed. Ruins of a castle built by the Moors from the 10th century onwards. Apparently, when Cascais was under the rule of Sintra, a huge fire would be lit here annually to remind the people of Cascais that the Moorish Castle is there to protect them. There isn’t much inside the castle but the views from around 400 m above sea level are stunning. Be careful on the walls though, they’re very narrow in places and lack any safety railings.

The summer estate of the Portuguese royal family from the middle ages until the 1910 republican revolution. Built in several steps, the oldest standing parts is a chapel built by King Dinis I during the 14th century. Around 1400 King John I constructed "the Magpie Room" (Sala das Pegas), the ceiling of which is decorated with 136 magpies (as many as there where women at the court) in a subtle hint to end gossiping. King Manuel I added the Coats-of-Arms Room (Sala dos Brasões) in the early 16th century, showing the coat of arms of the 72 foremost Portuguese noble families of the era, as well as the arms of his own family. King Alphonse VI was imprisoned in the Palace from 1676 until his death in 1683, after being deposed by his brother and successor. Most of the palace is covered by excellently crafted azulejo glazed tiles, both on the inside and on the facade. The most striking feature of the palace exterior is the two 36 m tall kitchen chimneys.

An old estate with a farmyard, giving you an opportunity to learn about traditional local farming. The estate was transformed into its current form by 19th-century British industrialist Francis Cook and his architect James Knowles Jr, and stands as a timeless piece of British Romanticism..

A secluded abbey where monks used to live in close contact with nature. Immersed in a wood, its crude and harsh style points out the importance of spirituality according to these friars and their strict Christian values. It has no electric light, so use your flash on to shoot great pictures! Don't miss the wood carved chapel, the library and the friars' cells.