"The Pinnacle of Portugal !" a Sintra Travel Page by Bwana_Brown

Did we ever start our trip to Portugal off on the right foot! The morning of our first full day in the country broke sunny and warm so we took heed of all the tips that we had received from other VT members - we boarded a train in Lisbon and headed for the outlying town of Sintra.

This amazing UNESCO World Heritage site surpassed all of our expectations, and despite the fact that we saw so many great places and sights on our two-week trip, we still rate this first day's experience as the 'pinnacle' of our Portugal visit!

We started off with a wander around the quaint streets of Sintra itself and then began trekking upward through a beautifully forested trail to the 8th century Moorish Castle that controls the skyline high above. After enjoying its battlements and views (seen here) we descended back into town for lunch and then a tour through the Sintra Palace, summer home to Portugese Royalty for over 500 years.

This place is not to be missed, and it is a very easy day trip from Lisbon by either train or car! In fact, we did come back here with our rental car on the last day before we left Portugal. We had realized that there was so much more to see so we took the scenic 'Serra de Sintra' drive through Pena Park to Cabo da Rocha lighthouse and the Peninha chapel at 1600-ft up! However, that is a story for my 'Distrito de Lisboa' page!