The dragon gate
The entrance carved as Manueline beast.
Singa Hitam — CC BY 2.0 · Rijksmuseum — CC0 · thirdsphoto — CC BY 2.0 · thirdsphoto — CC BY 2.0
Pena is Europe's coloured Romantic dream: a red-and-yellow palace crowning Sintra's summit in towers, domes and a dragon gate — built by Ferdinand II, the artist king (1840s), over an abandoned monastery in a deliberate mix of styles (Manueline, Moorish, Gothic) that preceded and inspired Neuschwanstein — UNESCO crowning all Sintra a cultural landscape largely on its account. Inside, the 16th-century monastery survives within the palace (cloister and azulejo), then the last kings' apartments furnished as left — the terraces opening ocean and country to Lisbon. Around it the Pena Park is a forest of features — lakes, giant ferns, the Countess' chalet — and the stone Villa Sassetti trail drops it to town in a splendid shaded hour. Golden rules: book the first slot (9:30) online without fail — Pena is Portugal's most visited site and mid-morning means hour-long queues — and the ocean fog swallows it suddenly: a clear day is the colours' condition.
The entrance carved as Manueline beast.
Atlantic and Lisbon from coloured ramparts.
The shaded stone descent to town — a splendid hour.
Estrada da Pena, 2710-609 Sintra
The Moorish CastleThe Moorish Castle is Sintra's Great Wall: Muslim ramparts (8th-9th century) wri7 minutes walk4.5
The Biester PalaceBiester is Sintra's most recently unveiled secret: the dark Gothic palace on the9 minutes walk4.8
Quinta da Regaleira & the Initiation WellRegaleira is Sintra's esoteric riddle: a palace and garden kingdom built by the 13 minutes walk4.8
The Sintra National PalaceThe National Palace is the town's heart and Portugal's oldest continuously lived14 minutes walk4.6The proven equation: first Rossio train (town before 8:30) — Pena at the 9:30 slot — down to the Moorish Castle by noon — town lunch and Regaleira in the afternoon (its magic survives fatigue) — Monserrate or Cabo da Roca for remaining breath, by car or taxi. Two great palaces per day is honest enjoyment's limit — three is a race.
Train, decisively: Rossio-Sintra is a cheap 40 minutes, while Sintra itself is a parking war on choked lanes in summer — the 434 loop bus serving the summits. A car wins only for adding Cabo da Roca and Cascais after — and park it at the station, never the summits.