SINTRA, PORTUGAL | How To Visit Sintra As A Day Trip From Lisbon (Travel Guide)

Sintra is located 30 kms to the west of Lisbon, in the center of Portugal. Home to ancient castles, extravagant palaces, and beautiful natural scenery, Sintra is an absolute must-visit. In this video we’ll show you how to visit Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon, including how to get there and the highlights that you can’t miss.

🚂 Getting to Sintra from Lisbon
The cheapest way to get to Sintra is by train. The train leaves from the Rossio Train Station in downtown Lisbon once or twice per hour. It takes about 45 mins to get to Sintra. We took the train at 9 AM, which allowed us enough time to visit the three main highlights. It is best to leave as early as possible, however, the castles only open their doors at 10 AM. Once you arrive at the train station, you will have many options to move around the town. You can either take a bus, a taxi, tuk tuk, or walk.

📍 Stop 1: Quinta da Regaleira
How to get there: 30 mins walking / 10 mins by taxi / 434 bus to Sintra Town + walk another 12 mins
Time needed: 2 hours

📍 Stop 2: Castelo dos Mouros
How to get there: 16 mins by taxi / 434 bus from train station
Time needed: 2 hours

📍 Stop 3: Pena Palace
How to get there: 3 mins by taxi / 15 mins walk
Time needed: 2.5 hours

🔗ALTERNATIVE GUIDED DAY TOUR FROM LISBON:
☑️ Guided tour of Pena & Regaleira:

😴 STAYING THE NIGHT IN SINTRA?

🎦 Note: drone footage is courtesy of Canva

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✏️ SINTRA BLOG:

🎵 MUSIC CREDITS:
Rejoice in the morning by The David Roy Collective
Cynthias Song by Will Van De Crommert
Seven Raindrops by Yonnie Dror
The Finale by Francesco Dandrea
Jennys Song by Tommy Jervidal

🎥 VIDEO CHAPTERS:
0:00 Intro
1:11 How To Get To Sintra
1:48 Quinta Da Regaleira
3:08 Castelo dos Mouros
4:15 Pena Palace
5:35 BONUS ACTIVITY

#sintra #sintradaytrip #portugal

[relaxationwithscenery]

I have visited several countries, and I can assure you that Portuguese people are the most hospitable, pleasant, and inviting people I have ever met. utmost admiration for this nation and its lovely, loving locations.

[elizabeth]

I followed this itinerary for my trip to Sintra (Quinta Da Regaleira, Castelo dos Mouros, then Pena Palace), and I am so glad I did! This route was the best way to see a lot of amazing sites in just 1 day, while also doing your best to avoid massive tourist crowds. In particular, I am so glad I went to see Quinta Da Regaleira first so I could experience the Initiation Well before it got too crowded. An hour after I saw it, there was a line of 50+ people in a line waiting to see it! Also seeing Pena Palace later in the day is a great tip. So glad I found this video, thank you for making my planning easier.

[tobypark]

Just got back from Lisbon, and absolutely fell in love with Portugal. It was supposed to be a country we were just passing through, but the history, people, restaurants, beaches, castles, churches, bars, clubs, and overall affordability might just make it one of my top 3 European places to visit.

[MsLmariie]

this place just looks like something out of a storybook

[halemcdan]

I'm going to take my wife here for our 20th anniversary. Thane for posting this, helped me make up my mind to go.

[hikermikem]

😁 Heading to Lisbon with a good close friend of mine in January 2025. After viewing this and already been excited to go, . Now I simply can not wait to explore Sintra, surrounding towns and villages, sample local traditional cuisine and be in awe at the history and architecture.. 👍😁

[SusanMaravetz]

I just returned from Lisbon, we did a day trip to Sintra. Keep in mind the hills are STEEP! With all the walking, it gets harder as your day progresses so make sure to prioritize your visit. The gardens are all amazing, save some time to explore the grounds of the palace. Not recommended for people with mobility issues, such as wheel chair or walker, as there are no ramps or smooth pavement. Also an Uber from Lisbon was less than $20 EU, so totally worthwhile for a direct drop at Peña Palace for 4 people.

[chandlerquarles]

I have done so much research on sintra already and this is the most helpful video I’ve found for our trip in September! Great work!

[perasperas]

Sintra is unique in many aspects. One of them is its microclima (usually 10ºC less than Lisbon) which attracted many aristocrats from all Europe to have a Summer estate there to run away from the hot cities.
To understand Sintra (Cintra until 1911) visitors should read about that charming and enchanted place, originally a Celtic sacred place.
Regaleira is an homage to the secret history of Portugal. There's this 5 minutes video made by BBC explaining it: Sintra's mysterious 'inverted tower' - BBC REEL
About Pena Palace, it's the older of its kind, concluded 40 years earlier than Neuschwanstein, which facade view (Neuschwanstein's) was copied by Disney when he made the 1st castle of Disneyland. And yes, we, the Portuguese, we don't like when people say "it looks like Disneyland".

[ladukes]

Thank you for the video! We just got back last week and added this to our trip (taking the train from Lisbon) after watching your post. The only thing we regret is not staying a night in Sintra to allow more time in the small town. Otherwise, it was awesome!!

[anacaban]

I can't wait to visit. I'll be there at the end of October!

[mbbecker]

Heading there in a few weeks. Been reading about Pena Palace being overcrowded with tons of time spent in lines. Almost every guidebook and blog post says to start with Pena and end with Quinta de Regaleira, so flipping the itinerary seems like a smart move. Happy to see that was true for you guys. Fingers crossed!

[miagifodder]

I just want to say this video really helped me decide what to do when I was in sinctra. Had great weather and was worth walking for the day to see it all. Beautiful location

[joycesjourneys]

Thank you for the video! I’m thinking of taking a trip to Portugal in December and Sintra is definitely on my list of must-see places.

[MojaveDaemonWitch]

🌹💙 Thank you for providing the maps!!! 👍🇵🇹

[fatima-naturelover]

Wow, what a beautiful place and great video. Thank you. I'm adding Sintra on my bucket list!

[gregmcmehen]

Great video guys. It really brought back memories for me. Sintra is amazing. We've visited multiple times and the first few times we did it the same way as you did: using the bus to get to the top. But the last time we were there, we hiked the entire thing. Believe it or not, there is an amazing hiking trail from the Quinta all the way to Pena. I'd recommend starting early and doing the hike: it was really beautiful and more fun than the bus--although you have to be in shape to pull it off. We just got back to the town centre just as darkness was falling, and had a well-earned meal at one of the restaurants before heading back to Lisbon.

[katarina_]

Thank you so much for this amazing video! I am going there next week and this got me super pumped to visit Sintra ❤

[minaz]

I found this video very informative and straigh to the point without showing too much. Thank you.

[OGutzVentura]

Thanks! Short but informative and I appreciate the extra details on the description. Im wondering what to visit for my 3 day layover in lisbon and this may be something i will consider ❤