CASA DO VALLE

Photo credit: João Marrazes At the same time as Greta Thornberg visited Portugal and stirred the global warming conversation in Portugal, the City of Sintra announced the ban of private car traffic to Sintra mountain, affecting the accessibility to Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle.   An historic city on a mountain, the traffic in Sintra's narrow, hilly streets has become close to chaotic, taking from the charm of the town, as cars queue bumper to bumper and drivers search for scarce parking spots, making the Sintra experience all too stressful. The new traffic rules seem drastic, but are aimed for sustainability and safety for residents and visitors alike. The traffic from the Historic Center up to the palaces is already one way, the change now is that only authorized vehicles are allowed to drive up.  These are: residents; vehicles of City Hall, Natural Park and Monte da Lua, as well as the utility companies; Licensed tourist transports, taxis and ubers, as well a...

For a nicer, friendlier and safer place for residents and tourists alike, new traffic regulations are in place in Sintra to stop the huge volume of cars. The Historic Center is now almost car-free. Many streets were changed to one-ways, and the traffic in many of them has been restricted to authorized vehicles only.  Who is authorized? Residents – up to two cars are allowed by residence to get a permit to circulate and park in the historic centre. Business owners – up to three cars are allowed to get a permit to circulate and park in the historic centre. Special Permit owners: there are two types of special permits – circulation only and circulation and parking. Circulation only is meant for those who for instance drop their children off to school in the restricted area.   Circulation and parking permit, or ‘Do not disturb’ is a permit for those who want to drive to and park in this area. Each accommodation can request a limited number of these perm...

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 ...