Day tours in Lisbon & surroundings
|
|
|
|
|
Program
Go up to one of the highest peaks of the mountain through a narrow and crooked road crossing Sintra forest.
Fairy tale Pena palace and its surrounding park are billed as "a consummate specimen of Portuguese romantic
architecture", with a profusion of eclectic styles, 500 meters above sea level, on a rocky promontory that looks
purpose-
built for a castle. Visit Pena palace. From the palace, one has a spectacular outlook onto the mountain and its
surroundings.
|
|
Stop at Sintra’s historical town centre, listed as UNESCO world heritage site. It is made up of a charming maze of steep, narrow streets lined with fine
examples of old palatial homes hiding behind lichen-covered walls, while local pastry shops provide the famous Sintra ‘queijadas’ (cheese pastries),
‘travesseiros’ (egg and almond pastries) and local wine. The town is also full of shops that carry many of the local crafts like pottery, ceramics and lace.
Cascais fishing port swiftly expanded to an elegant, cosmopolitan, coastal resort. Once stop of navigators like Columbus and Vasco da Gama. From the hill
there’s a nice view of Estoril bay and the typical fishing boats unloading the catch, a flash marina and a castle.
We return to Lisbon by Estoril Coast where we can have a panoramic view of the Casino and its gardens. The Estoril coast, incorporating holiday hotspots
offers great beaches and a choice of historic sights.
|
|
|
|
... Described by Lord Byron as “Glorious Eden,” Sintra’s charms have long been celebrated. Once the summer
residence of the kings and Moorish lords, today Sintra is a romantic getaway for people from all around the world.
Inhabited since the pre-history period and by Celts and the Romans who called this area “The Mountain of the
Moon”. In the 8th to 9th century, Muslims built a castle here. During Medieval times, the Portuguese royal family,
overflowing with the pomp and riches from their colonial triumphs abroad, first came here to escape the heat (and
stench) of the summer in Lisbon. Beginning in the 14th century, the Portuguese aristocrats followed the royals to
Sintra, a dwelling place for hunting and relaxing. Stormy and mysterious, the mountain is covered by more than
1000 different species of plants. Several artists from different countries came here to work, inspired in the beauty of
this place, extolling its beauty: “The Garden of Paradise”, “Garden of Europe”, “Glorious Eden”…
|
|
| |
...One of the most beautiful parts of the Estoril Coast is a succession of hills dotted with pine trees and houses,
sweeping down to the sea and the local villages with their typical houses and the old palatial villas along the sea front.
Villas from the Roman period have been excavated and inscriptions found of family names, names of the Gods they
worshipped and names chosen for their sons.
Cascais became a lookout for Lisbon in the great maritime era of discovering new worlds. It was the first place the
navigators saw when they returned from long and adventurous voyages seeking their homeland. It was in Cascais
during the latter part of the XIX century, that the Royal Family first began to bathe. It was a custom which was
becoming popular in Europe and Cascais was an ideal place owing to its mild climate. Over the years, many
important families have made Cascais into a cosmopolitan town...
|
|
|
|
|
