Study trip to Lisbon - Excursion to Sintra

نشرت: 06.06.2018

On the second day, we started our day trip to Sintra in the morning. The bus dropped us off at the National Palace and we began exploring the castles, which are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

View of the National Palace in Sintra

We then continued on foot to the Pena Palace, which was built on top of the mountain. This gave us a climb with many steps, but also beautiful views.

Passing by Villa Sassetti, we were able to take a short look at the Moorish Castle before finally reaching the Pena Palace.

View of the Moorish Castle

The ascent took about an hour with photo breaks and waiting times for those who had to find the right turn (which castle were we going to again?), so there was not much time left in the Pena Palace.

Pena Palace

We thought an hour should be enough for the visit.

But when we arrived at the entrance gate, we found ourselves at the end of a long line waiting to get in.

So we finally squeezed through the castle rooms between Italian and Chinese tour groups. There was not much peace for an individual visit, but the rooms with their diverse decorations were impressive even with the crowds.

After visiting the rooms of the former monastery, to which the palace had been attached, we entered the newer part with the magnificent rooms of the royal palace.

Unfortunately, our bus driver first sent us in the wrong direction to a not very attractive shopping center. With the indication "Shopping," his English skills were already exhausted, so we later realized that the historic center and the promenade were also not far away.

There was one last short stop in another seaside resort, Estoril. The bus stopped at the station with a view of the railway and a 15-minute break, which we didn't really know what to do with.