SINTRA - Portugal - page 130

By Car: For tips on driving into Sintra, see my “Route Tips for Drivers” on here .
Helpful Hints
LisboaCard: This sightseeing pass covers the National Palace and gets you discounts on
the Pena Palace, Moorish Castle, Toy Museum, and the Monserrate gardens. It also
covers the train ride from Lisbon to Sintra (buy it at a Lisbon TI before you visit
Sintra—see here ) . Be sure to bring the LisboaCard booklet, which contains coupons
required for some of the discounts.
Festivals: The Festival de Sintra music and dance festival from late May to early July
keeps the town lively and fun ( www.festivaldesintra.pt ) .
Money: ATMs are rare in Sintra. You'll find one at the train station, another inside
the main TI, and one on Rua das Padarias, just up the hill from the recommended
Piriquita Café.
Local Guide: Christina Quental works mainly in Lisbon, but lives near Sintra and can
meet you at the station (Mon-Fri €115/half-day, €180/day; Sat-Sun €140/half-day,
€230/day; mobile [phone], [e-mail] ).
BringaPicnic: If saving a few euros is important, consider buying picnic items in Lisbon.
Sintra's reputation as a tourist destination means high prices for restaurant meals.
Getting Around Sintra
Bus #434 loops together all the important stops—the train station, the town center/TI/
National Palace (stop is at TI), the Moorish Castle ruins, and the Pena Palace—before
heading back to town and the train station (June-mid-Sept 4/hour, mid-Sept-May 3/hour;
€5 ticket good all day for one loop with stops, buy from driver; first bus departs at 9:15
from train station; last bus leaves station at 19:10, 18:10 in winter; entire circuit takes 30
minutes). On your way to the Pena Palace, the bus will stop at the lower Pena Park en-
trance and the entrance to the Moorish Castle—but don't get off. Instead, continue to the
top of the hill; where the bus drops you off, it's still another 10-minute uphill walk to the
Pena Palace (or take the €2 green shuttle bus; described later). You can also take a taxi
from the town center or the train station to the Moorish Castle or the Pena Palace (but it
won't get you any closer to the palace entrance than the bus). From the Pena Palace, it's a
15-minute walk backtracking downhill to the Moorish Castle (return to bus-and-taxi stop,
then follow signs down road to Moorish Castle ).
The clip-clop horse carriages cost about €30 for 25 minutes (rates posted). They can
take you anywhere; you'll likely see them waiting by the parking lot just in front of the
National Palace.