Which palaces to visit in Sintra?

Sights of Sintra

The sights of Sintra can be divided into two large groups: palaces and everything else. There is much more to the palace than what can be visited. The palaces that can be visited are: Sintra National Palace (Palácio Nacional de Sintra), Pena National Palace (Palácio Nacional da Pena), Biester Palace (Palácio Biester), Regaleira Estate (Quinta da Regaleira), Monserrate Palace (Palácio de Monserrate), Chalet of the Countess of Edla (Chalet e Jardim da Condessa d'Edla) and Sassetti Villa (Quinta da Amizade-Vila Sassetti).

Other category includes Sintra's historic old town, the Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros), the Capuchos Convent (Convento dos Capuchos), the Peninha Sanctuary (Capela de Nossa Senhora da Peninha), and Cape Roca (Cabo da Roca ) area.

It is quite obvious that this is not a daily program and it is also natural that not everyone likes or cares about the same thing. Instead of a value judgment and a final suggestion, I would rather give aspects to make it easier to choose which palaces is to visit in Sintra.

National Palace of Pena

Which palaces to visit in Sintra?

Let's look at the most important aspects, based on which we can decide which palaces to visit in Sintra. If we only focus on the palaces, we cannot fit more than 3-4 palaces in a full day, but the realistic plan is that we can visit two palaces in one day.

Sintra National Palace (Palácio Nacional de Sintra)

• From a historical point of view, it is the most significant palace. More important than all the others combined.
• It is also one of the largest palaces in the area.
• It is a combination of several centuries and styles, which makes it very diverse.
• The most accessible palace.
• It doesn't have a park.

National Palace of Pena (Palácio Nacional da Pena)

• The most famous and in many ways the most spectacular palace.
• Historically significant.
• It has a huge and very diverse park. Huge means that it takes up to 3-4 hours to walk around the whole park.
• There are significant height differences in the park.
• You have to buy a ticket in advance and you can only go inside the palace at specific time.
• There is almost always a crowd and you have to wait.
• Not accessible by public transport, only by expensive local bus or taxi.

Chalet of the Countess of Edla (Chalet e Jardim da Condessa d'Edla)

• It is located at the back of the Pena Palace park, and the most beautiful part of the park is around it.
• The cork decoration is special.
• Its interior is typically closed.

Biester Palace (Palácio Biester)

• Less famous, therefore less visited, no crowds.
• A nice but relatively small park.
• It is also easily accessible on foot from the center.
• It is historically less significant and architecturally less unique.

Quinta da Regaleira

• A mystical, large park, which in itself hides many built attractions.
• It is an architecturally unique and spectacular palace and has conceivable size.
• It can also be reached on foot from the center.
• There are almost always many people, waiting is inevitable.
• Historically not significant.

Monserrate Palace (Palácio de Monserrate)

• A diverse, large, but still completely walkable park, it has many botanical attractions in itself.
• It is an architecturally unique and spectacular palace and has conceivable size.
• It is located far from the center, it is difficult to reach by public transport. Due to the one-way systems, you can only get back to the center by taking a long detour.
• Historically not significant.

Vila Sassetti (Quinta da Amizade-Vila Sassetti)

• The palace can only be reached on foot from the path connecting the city center and the Pena National Palace.
• Few visitors.
• Usually, the small villa can only be viewed from the outside.
• From a historical point of view, it is not significant, architecturally it is less unique.
• The park is nice, but not unique.

Monserrate Palace

Non-palace sights

If we are filled with the sight of the palaces, we can complete the day with other attractions.

City center: nice, cozy, but almost always crowded historic center. Many literary sites.

Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros): A classic castle ruin with a magnificent view. It can be reached on foot from the Pena Palace.

Capuchos Convent (Convento dos Capuchos): Puritan hermitage in the middle of the forest. Interesting, but not accessible by public transport.

Peninha Sanctuary (Capela de Nossa Senhora da Peninha): Always closed. Nice view towards Cascais. Interesting, but not accessible by public transport.

Cape Roca (Cabo da Roca): A wonderful place, but really interesting if we have time and the opportunity to hike.