In part 1 of my Mother’s Day weekend we visited Sintra

Finally, a city trip again. This time as a surprise for my mother for Mother’s Day. A few months ago I only told her that she needs 6 days off in a row and that I`ll take care of everything. She tried to find out quite subtly what our goal would be. 😉 Without any success.

A successful surprise for my mom ♡

She always hoped for Lisbon (for quite some time she has been talking about how much she would like to go to Lisbon). Once she thought I misspoke and accidentally let slip, that we`re going to Sweden (I let her believe that and said nothing more). Until finally the big mystery was revealed during boarding.

My mom gets to know Uber 😉

Arrived at the airport, we waited for the shuttle service organized by the hotel, in vain. After I called the number of our accommodation and a voice in Portuguese said something (we don`t understand Portuguese). So we asked a decent looking gentleman without further ado, if he could translate what this voice on the tape said. Unfortunately, he could hardly speak a word English. But it`s always possible to communicate in some way, even if it`s by using your hands and feet. He explained, that the voice said that the bumber isn`t correct. But if we need a ride, he is an Uber driver. Considering the prospect that we should queue up behind about 40 people at line, to get a cab, I used the opportunity and simply trusted him. But before we got into the car, I explained to my mother what an Uber driver is. 😉

“Why are we driving away from Lisbon?”

It got funny when he drove away from the centre of Lisbon. “Where are we going? Does he have the right address?”, my mother asked from my left. Along with a mischievous smile came my answer. “Yes yes, all is well”, I told her . First I had planned 2.5 days in Sintra (30 minutes drive from Lisbon towards Porto). After a short confusion, my mother waited patiently for us to be dropped off.

“Where`s the hotel?”

When we arrived there, we found the address given on the website of the hotel. Only there was a shop for dish towels. Hmmm… For the second time my mother: “Does the hotel even exist?”. I don’t believe to be made fun of most of the time, so we went to a café where I asked around if somebody knew the right address. After they explained, we found the front door of Boutique Guest House Aguamel.

Yes, travelling sometimes means to just trust and take it as it comes. Cause most of the time, somehow it ends in a good way. 😉

Our first accommodation in Sintra

Boutique Guest House Aguamel

We liked our room “Orange blossom” at the Aguamel very much. The breakfast was ok, but nothing special. Next time I would book without breakfast, as there are many fine cafés and bakeries in Sintra (see tips). Here are some photos of the room and the common area of the hotel :

Actually, I originally wanted to book 2 nights in a suite at “Vintage Guest House Chalet Saudade”. But since this was, unfortunately, only bookable for our second night, we changed hotels after our first night. Means, we had to cross almost all of Sintra after our breakfast. Which meant a walk of about 15 minutes.

The second lodging in Sintra

Chalet Saudade – A gorgeous vintage guesthouse!

Chalet Saudade is a stunning, light blue painted building from the late 19th century and definitely attracts all eyes already from the outside. But also the wonderful lounge area is a feast for the eyes.

The former storeroom in the “basement” was converted into a handsome ground floor suite with adjoining garden. One of the most special rooms I`ve ever stayed in. An absolute recommendation!

Café Saudade

As Chalet Saudade does not have a kitchen, you`ll receive a voucher for breakfast at Café Saudade when you check in . It`s a 3 minutes walk away. The café is very nice and day have a good breakfast. I found it pretty practical, that one can redeem the voucher at any time of the day, as the café is open during whole day.

Av. Miguel Bombarda 6

Palacio Nacional da Pena – Probably the most colourful castle!

Due to time reasons, I decided to visit one of Portugal`s landmarks, the Palacio Nacional da Pena. A real fairytale castle, that could just as well be in Disneyland. In 1842, the palace was commissioned by King Ferdinand II to be used as a summer residence (as it is very pleasant to spend the summer on the hills of Sintra). Many different designs and influences, from North African to medieval Gothic and the colorful painted walls make this palace unique. Despite the many tourists on site (don’t complain, we are one of them aswell), we were enchanted by its charm, which was achieved by those many towers and colours.

An absolute highlight in my travel past so far. If you`re ever in this vicinity, be sure to visit!

Garden of Pena Palace – A mystical fairytale forest

The garden complex that belongs to the Palacio Nacional da Pena also impressed us. The atmosphere felt like in an enchanted forest. See for yourself:

Info for The Pena Palace:

• The easiest way is to take a ride with a tuk-tuk to the entrance of the garden a little underneath.
• There`s a much less frequently used cash register. At the cash desk in front of the main entrance there`s often a huge waiting line. A walk through the garden to the main entrance of the palace takes about 30 minutes and is beautiful.
• With a terrace ticket you`ll have access to the gardens and to the outside area of the Palace. We didn`t visit the interiors, as the queue (all of us have already bought tickets in advance and had to wait in line to get to see the inside area anyway) was huge. But for us this ticket was perfect, as we only wanted to see the gardens and the facade.
• To see the outside area of the garden and palace it requires approx. 2-3hrs.  There is also a nice café on the terrace of the palace.

Quinta da Regaleira and its huge park

Next to it we saw the Quinta da Regaleira. This property belongs to the UNESCO world heritage …

and has a beautiful, large park and a very special fountain.

Info for Quinta da Regaleira:

• If you want to see the exciting fountain at the Quinta da Regaleira, it`s best to come early in the morning, otherwise there wil be a very long queue (but it`s still worth it).
• Time which is needed for the huge park of the Quinta da Regaleira with lakes, bridges, grottos and the famous fountain: 2-3 h, for the main building itself about 15-30 min.

Castelo dos Mauros – The mini version of the Great Wall of China

And last but not least we checked out Castelo dos Mauros.

Info for Castelo dos Mauros:

• A few minutes walk from the palace is the Castelo dos Mauros.
• If there`s a big queue at the main cash desk, just walk straight ahead, towards the wall. The first few meters are for free, after there`s a cash desk on the left. There was no queue (at least when we were there).
• A footpath leads back to the centre from Castelo dos Mauros (takes about 1h). The whole trail is relatively easy to find if if you use the free folding map they give you at the cashier. Alternatively, you can also descend with a Tuk Tuk, which means you have to spend a little money again.
• Time calculation for visiting the wall if you want to walk from one side to the other (I would do that, you have a nice view of Sintra from there), stress-free ca.1h.

Beside Palacio Nacional da Pena, I also find Quinta da Regaleira with its huge garden and Castelo dos Mauros extremely worth seeing.

The small town of Sintra itself

We also liked the little city itself. As it`s relatively small, half a day for strolling is completely sufficient.

The weather was (as you can see) cloudless and sunny on one day, foggy and fresh the next day.

Canthino Gourmet

In this Tapas Bar we had dinner the first night. It has a good price-performance ratio and is cozy for lunch and an uncomplicated dinner. The bar is also a store for delicacies.

Azenhas do Mar – A trip you should plan when you`re in Sintra!

The village of Azenhas do Mar, which is located 15 minutes away by car and by the sea, is also worth a visit.

Restaurant Azenhas do Mar

The fish restaurant named the same, is highly recommended. Not cheap, but great food and an amazing view of the sea.

My conclousion to Sintra:

Our time in Sintra was very exciting. After our time there, we still haven’t seen many things. You could easily spend 4 days to a week there, if you wanna look at everything without any hurry. Unfortunately, many people are not really familiar with the town of Sintra. Totally unjustified, since the little town offers a lot of great things to see! If you`re in Lisbon or the surrounding area, I would definitely plan some time for Sintra, if possible.

Part 2 and therefore my detailed guide for Lisbon can be found under this link.

Tips:

• In the centre, tuk tuks (motorcycles with a kind of sidecar) drive you wherever you want, for a fee of course (in our case even to Azhenas dos Mar, ha ha)

• Bakery Casa Piriquita I und II Even the inhabitants of Lisbon come here on weekends to shop for their breakfast!
• Tickets for various events in Sintra can also be bought online here or here