Tips for a fabulous Sintra break

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Summer has finally arrived, with temperatures over 30ºC in the afternoons! The temperature rise coincides with the holiday period of the southern Europeans, which means that crowds will be thicker. We have many suggestions for you to make your visit in Sintra more enjoyable! Here are some of them.  Remember that more will appear, and we will keep you posted through Facebook, and of course the information board at the reception.

First of all, Sintra is full of fabulous historically and culturally important monuments and most of them are well visited.  There are also some that are less famous but equally interesting.  Do you really want to see them all? Is Pena Palace really what you want to see is its fairy-tale park what you were imagining? Are you more interested in walking in the nature than seeing art? Choose well where you want to go and let us help you if you are not sure what Sintra has to offer - believe me, it's a wide variety of things.  That is one of the best things about Sintra!

To avoid the thickest crowds at the monuments - in the most famous monuments like Pena Palace or Quinta da Regaleira, end of the afternoons are less crowded this month.  This because most people go to the monuments in the morning and to the beach in the afternoons. Buy your tickets on line before you go so that you can avoid one more queue.   Also, use the secondary gates, like the Lakes entrance or the Chalet de Condessa  entrance of Pena Palace.  It will also be easier to park.
However, we suggest that you don't take your car up to the mountain, leave it in our parking lot and walk, take a tuk-tuk or a bus - or hire an electric bicycle to ride up the hill with no sweat! Anything to avoid the queuing in the traffic.

If you visit the monuments in the afternoons, stay for some different fun.  Many of the monuments have cultural programs at the end of the afternoons. Here are some examples:


  • Pena Palace is open on Thursday nights, until midnight, during August and the two first weeks of September  
  • Quinta da Regaleira has theater performances on most Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays (all with English subtitles); Piano concerts some Friday afternoons and Jazz on Thursdays.  Use this link to see the full schedule of events. 
  • Monserrate gardens have outside cinema on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings on the large lawn all through August.  
 For a full schedule of activities in the monuments, use this link.


Also - do something different! 
Visit Pena Park on horseback.



Rent an electric or normal mountain bike and discover the paths through the mountain and countryside to the beach.









Go to the markets - on Saturdays and Sundays there is a market somewhere be it for food, utensils, chicken or antiques.


Eat authentic food and enjoy Portuguese music in one of the village fairs. Every weekend there is a fair and market somewhere in Sintra.  These are great fun with eats, crafts and music to dance to.  Many of these parties are of religous origin, celebrating a saint or asking for a special blessing, but the bumper cars and cotton candy are like any other fair! We have a full schedule of all of the fairs at the reception.

There are special events in Sintra town as well - The Aura festival 2-5 of August evenings, where the main roads and buildings become a stage of light art.  The first weekend of September the same roads are hosting Live Statues, a wonderful form of art!

And of course we suggest that you participate in a Yoga class on our big lawn on Wednesdays and  take part in our twice-weekly free guided walks. Or do nothing but relax! Enjoy our pool, read a book from our library in the hammock, get a massage in the garden and enjoy a glass of cold, home-made ice tea!


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