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Sintra night life & itinerary

Hello! Can anyone tell me what the nightlife is like in Sintra? For various reasons it looks like staying there three nights will fit nicely into our itinerary, but I'm worried that it will be too sleepy for so many nights. We don't need nightclubs, just lively restaurants and a bar or two. What time does the town close down? We have a day and a half of sights to see in Sintra itself, and a full day hike on the Sintra coast and we will be driving from Lisbon.

Below is our projected itinerary for Sintra, have I allotted the proper amount of time to visit the various sights? I hear that Sintra can be very crowded on Sunday and Monday, so that's why I saved the Pena Palace for Tuesday. All thoughts and suggestions welcome (including places to stay).

Sunday
pick up rental car and drive from Lisbon,
visit Monserratt in afternoon (2 hours?),
check into hotel & visit Moorish castle for sunset (1 hour?),
Sleep Sintra

Monday:
Full day hike on the Sintra Coast
Sleep Sintra

Tuesday
Pena Palace & Garden (half day)
National Museum (1 hour?)
Quinta Regaleira (2 hours?)
Sleep Sintra

Wednesday
Drive to Nazare

We will be in Portugal for 3 weeks in September, so this is just a leg of our trip.
Many thanks!

Posted by
9 posts

Thank you so much Gail! We don't plan to drive to the sights in town, just park and use the car for other excursions. Thought it might be lovely to see sunset from the Moorish castle, though I know it's right below the Pena Palace and makes a lot of sense to do those two sights together. Still debating if anyone has input!

Posted by
6113 posts

The population of Sintra is over 300,000, so it isn’t quiet. Most restaurants close around 10-11pm - people in Portugal eat a lot earlier than in Spain. Bars will be open later.

I would head to Sao Martinho or Foz do Arelho if you want beach time after Sintra rather than Nazare.