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Sintra Advice-Booking Tickets? Must See Places?

Posted by on

Hi :) We are spending 1 day/night in Sintra and are interested in seeing Pena Palace, Quinta da Regaleira and the Moorish Castle.
What order should we do this in? I see that Pena Palace has a specific time so I was thinkin of that one first so we could spend however much time in the other 2 places rather than rush over to Pena when it's our allotted time slot.

Which website should I use to book tickets? Are these the official sites?
https://regaleira.byblueticket.pt
https://bilheteira.parquesdesintra.pt/home

I also see a website called tickets-sintra.com

Should we do the audio tour, a guided tour or just walk around? There's "Get Your Guide."

Would the best ways to get around be the 434 and 435 buses.

Any other recommendations? Things you absolutely loved. I've heard Castelo dos Mouros is beautiful. But 4 places might be too much. Thoughts? What would you plan for a full day in Sintra?

We will be taking the train from Lisbon in the morning and leaving the next day for Porto.

Posted by
141 posts

Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle we felt was enough for a full day. with all the walking uphill we were tired after these two Plus the crowds! We went in April and it was very crowded so add on time for waiting in line too for entry and generally trying to walk around. I don't think 4 places would be possible to visit in one day honestly.

We took the train from Lisbon to Sintra then a public bus to Pena Palace & Moorish Castle is near it also so we just walked to that. Then we took the public bus back to the train.

We took the train from Lisbon to Porto. It was a nice train ride. Once you arrive in Porto you will then transfer to a local train to get to the downtown area. This transfer is included in your ticket. It will be pretty obvious what to do/where to go and the local train is frequent. Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
5687 posts

The Pena Palace in Sintra was beautiful to look at - but I didn't go inside. Personally, I don't need to see the inside of any more palaces in Europe. But the highlight of Sintra to me was the unique and charming Quinta da Regaleira.

Posted by
1099 posts

Pena Palace and Moorish Castle, also called Castelo dos Mouros, are by each other. Get an early entrance time for Pena if you want to go inside. Afterwards, take the path to Moorish Castle. Then depending on how you feel, you can head over to Quinta da Regaleira in the afternoon. I've always walked to Regaleira from the town since it's not too far, but you could take the bus if needed.

There are also tuk tuks that will take you to the attractions. More expensive than the bus and touristy, but if you get a good driver, it can add to the fun.

Posted by
184 posts

I don’t think it’s necessary to go into Peña Palace. Watch a video online so you can decide for yourself. It was crowded and we just shuffled along with the large crowd. Much better to enjoy the whimsical exterior and views, IMO.

Posted by
315 posts

We JUST got out of the palace. Whew! Of you don't go first thing in the morning, don't go. The line we were in reminded me of the automatons in Apple's 1984 commercial. Very disorganized surly crowd control, likely because the crowd was overwhelming.

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