Unique. Beautiful. Fairytale-like. If you visit Lisbon, you must also visit Sintra. You’re often told that before you travel, and here it’s no different. A day trip to this city of castles, palaces and fairytale views, about 40 minutes from Lisbon, is a must if you’re already in the immediate area.

We all once dreamed of having lived in the Middle Ages. The boys wanted to be the brave knights who flattened everyone when needed, while the girls dreamed of being the princess who was eagerly waiting for her dream prince. Most of the time, the somewhat feral knight would come and snatch the princess before the prince charming could even say:

White steed!

But that’s another story. Back to the present! Hop, hop! If you want to see and experience the castle life today, you can perfectly organize your time during the city trip to Lisbon and treat yourself to a fairytale day. In the early morning hours it goes from the station Rossio in Lisbon and just under $2 per person by train and a 40-minute ride in the direction of Sintra.

Once in Sintra, you have to decide if you want to take the easy, touristy and very crowded way up to the castles and palaces either crammed like sardines in a bus.

Or whether you prefer to walk for an hour and enjoy a breathtaking, beautiful and unforgettable path full of beautiful views and even more dreamlike impressions. True to the motto “the way is the goal”, we can highly recommend the little hike up.

The one hour quickly turns into three or more hours, but in return there are wonderful snippets of memories in digital form for the personal photo album, or Instagram ↗ profile. On the way up, there is a small, sweet café just before the first castles, where you can enjoy an unforgettably beautiful view of another castle while sipping a drink on the terrace.

The colorful Palácio da Pena

Arrived at the probably most famous castle of Sintra, the Palácio da Pena, you will first get rid of $7.5 to $14 for the Sintra palace ticket, ↗ depending on whether only the park around or the interior of the castle should be visited.

For our part, we find the cheaper option with the ticket for the park more than enough, because here up to the courtyard everything can be visited. The castle itself is something very special. Quite shrill, colorful and almost kitschy, it presents itself and enchants with its uniqueness the far too many tourists on site.

If there is still time, the castle Castelo dos Mouros can be visited, which, by the way, is also very visible from the Palácio da Pena. Among us still a small insider tip! To enjoy the Palácio da Pena in complete beauty, you can make another small hike of about 15 minutes to the High Cross.

Prices are per person.

Train (from Lisbon): $2 / both ways

Activity: $10 / event