Sally left the UK around two years ago to start a new life
in Portugal. She lives in a suburb of Lisbon, close
to the sea and is now a TEFL teacher, teaching English to
Portuguese children and adults. This is an account
of Sintra.
Sintra was poetically described by Lord Byron as
“this glorious Eden”. It was declared by
UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It is easy to get
to Sintra by train from the Estação do
Rossio station, opening onto Praça de Dom Pedro IV,
or the Rossio, where frequent connections can be made. The
one-way fare from Lisbon to Cascais, Estoril, or Sintra is
1.25€ to 2.50€ ($1.45-$2.90) per person.
There is also a bus from Lisbon. You can drive, as
Sally did, but it’s a difficult and tortuous road,
as she found out!
The original Sintra is not large to visit but it now
includes two outlying areas named Estefânia and
São Pedro. As the older part sits on granite slope
it is best seen on foot or by a horse-drawn
carriage. The town is dominated by the two conical
chimneys of the Palácio Nacional da Vila that was
the summer home of the royal family since the 15th
Century. Scattered on the hillside are several
historical buildings, including the Palácio da
Pena, a 19th Century recreation of different styles
admired by Dom Fernando II, the German husband of the
young Portuguese Queen Maria II, and this example often
regarded as a failed attempt to create his own romantic
revival.
The castle stands high on the southeast side of the
mountain range whilst overlooking the village are the
ruined ramparts of the Castelo dos Mouros, a fort dating
from the 8th Century. Within it is an ancient
Moorish cistern and the panoramic view from its walls is
impressive. There are several churches in the town and the
most interesting is the 12th Century Igreja de Santa Maria
rebuilt in 1755 after the earthquake. Several
private palaces are open to the public amongst which are
the Palácio de Seteais, a magnificent 18th Century
home built for the fifth Marquês de Marialva, and
later converted into a five star Hotel; Casa dos
Ribafrias, a 16th Century building once belonging to the
Marquês de Pombal; Quinta de Pena Verde, another
16th Century palace; and the Palácio de Monserrate
built in the 19th Century by Francis Cook and influenced
by the architectural work of Nash. Another
interesting place is the Convento dos Capuchos, an unusual
hermitage founded in 1560 with tiny dwarf cells cut from
the rock. Within the old town there are several
museums, Museu de Brinquedo showing only toys from the
past and present, the Museu Regional retelling the history
of the area with items and artefacts and sometimes also
holding art exhibitions, Casa Museu Leal de Câmara
devoted the works of the artist, Casa Museu Dorita Castel
Branco also devoted to works of the sculptress, Museu de
Arte Moderna, Galeria de Arte Municipal de Sintra, Centro
International de Escultura, Museu de Arqueologia
São Miguel de Odrinhas, Museu Renato L. Garcia,
Atelier Museu de Anjos Teixeira and Museu Ferreira de
Castro.
Here is Sally’s account of her recent trip to
Sintra.
Went up to the Pena Palace in Sintra – this is the
one that you often see on the rare bit of publicity for
Portugal. It looks that something that the mad King
of Bavaria might have built. All different shapes
and designs in yellow and various other colours. I
drove up the Sintra mountains – not a very nice
drive as the road is a cobbled three quarter width one
with drops at one side, pot holes and because the weather
was atrocious, and the road is heavily wooded, it was a
bit like something out of Lord of the Rings in
atmosphere. There is now a very unusual bus that
takes you up to the palace (thank goodness). It is
obviously a vintage one as it has lovely wall lights and
wooden seats and makes slightly heavy weather of climbing
up the incline.
The palace is pretty much the same – quite a
fascinating place as it is exactly like it was when the
Royal Family used to stay there in the summers before they
left for exile. There is only about four staff
looking after all the rooms – very different to
visiting a National Trust property in the UK.
Unfortunately because the weather was so dire, the views
were not visible – when I went last time the views
were incredible – but it’s still worth
going. In fact when I drive to work in Cacem on
Tuesdays and Thursdays I can just see the Palace in
certain places on the drive. The whole of the Sintra
area is very magical anyway.
Another great place to visit is Cabo da Roca – the
furthest western point of Europe. Always guaranteed
to be a tad breezy and again great views out to sea.
Gives you an idea of how brave those explorers were in the
olden days and why they thought they would fall off the
edge of the world. 
Just nearby is a lovely restaurant/bar in a converted
Windmill. It is quite unusual as there are so many
different places and corners to sit when the weather is
fine. It has the odd waterfall here and there and
some ponds with frogs and goldfish. Inside it has a
conservatory type front and then two rooms. All
beautifully decorated in wood with lots of lamps.
Equally nice on a wet and cold day as on a hot and sunny
one. It’s one of those places you have to be
taken to by a local to know about it. A
friend’s mother and father took me years ago and I
always wondered where it was and then found it by accident
a few months ago and really enjoy taking people to it.
If you would like to contact sally, her e-mail address is:
pethybs@hotmail.com
