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Sintra, Cascais, Estoril - full day
Personalized booking
Program
Sunny Coast and its beaches. Cosmopolitan Estoril with a stop at the biggest
Casino in Europe.
Cascais bay and ancient fishing port, stop of many navigators like Columbus and
Vasco da Gama, with rocky and sandy beaches and the picturesque cliff - the
Mouth of Hell.
Guincho, the wind surfer beach and Cabo da Roca - the westernmost point of
continental Europe (stop).
Drive across the luxuriant Sintra Mountain and its gardens by twisted roads
surrounded by a huge variety of vegetation - "The Glorious Eden" of Lord Byron,
"The Garden of Paradise", name given by Gil Vicente.
Stop in the medieval Sintra town, with free time to see the most ancient royal
palace in Portugal, the narrow streets with local handicraft shops, the typical local
pastry like queijadas and travesseiros, the wine shops, the gardens.
You can also choose to visit:
-Pena Palace at the top of Sintra mountain. A XIX century palace with a mixture of
several styles: Oriental, Arab, Indian, Neo-classic, Manueline, Renaissance… a
fairy tale like palace with a stunning view over the ocean, mountain, Lisbon. And
surrounded by a park with 1000 different species of plants.
-Moorish castle: also at one of the highest points of the mountain with a
spectacular view. But only advisable to people who don’t mind to walk a lot up the
hills through steep stairways…
-Mafra convent and palace (an extra payment fee due to extra mileage): dating
from the XVIII century, one of the biggest constructions in Europe, all made of
marble, with 900 rooms and a 200 feet high dome. An impressive building telling
about the wealth of king John V. Close by is “Portugal in miniature” or Franco
house, with miniatures of houses and monuments of Portugal.
-Capuchos convent: the smallest convent in Portugal, dug in the granite rock of
Sintra, where monks used to live in the XVI century.
-Regaleira palace: a revival of Manueline style, made by a Portuguese millionaire
in the XIX century.
- Queluz palace: the Portuguese Versailles: palace and gardens tell us about the
“rocaille” style and the way of living in the XVIII century.
-Colares wine lodges: come to see the wine cellars of Sintra, where you can also
taste and buy this traditional wine belonging to a demarcated area.
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... Sintra is the mountain where, as an ancient legend tells, was the last dwelling place of Christ before ascending to the sky. The
Romans called this area “The Mountain of the Moon.” Then 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”, “The Garden of Europe”, “The Glorious Eden”…
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