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Sintra, Cascais, Estoril - half 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 windsurfer 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.
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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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