Bringing a car? Think twice!
Thinking of whether to bring a car to Sintra? Think well before you do. Here are a few things for your consideration: The most visited monument in Portugal is the Pena Palace on the Sintra mountain, in the middle of Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. The Moorish Castle is right next to it, and the National Palace and Quinta da Regaleira are in the Historical Center of Sintra. These 4 monuments alone have an average of 3.000.000 visitors a year. The Historic Center of Sintra is like any other Historic Center - narrow streets, many one-way streets, almost no parking and LOTS of tourists on foot, in busses, in their own cars. Only, unlike most Historic Centers, Sintra is not closed for traffic. Yet. And most rental cars are with manual gears. In the summer months people spend up to 2 hours in a queue during the last few kilometers to get to Sintra or passing through it. Add to the normal chaos, the works in the water lines that the City Hall is doing during ...