A Journey to Sintra - Portugal's Town of Fairytale Palaces

posted on: Aug 18, 2021

By: Habeeb Salloum/Arab America Contributing Writer

Lord Byron, the 19th century Poet Laureate of England, in his verse, portrayed Sintra as ‘the glorious Eden where he longed to spend his last days’, and the English poet Robert Southey described it as ‘the most blessed spot in all the inhabitable globe’.  Their praise and those of others has for years, on an ongoing basis, attracted visitors to this historic town.

Seeking this spot in Portugal, lauded by these English poets, a group of us set out in a small minibus to discover what had inspired these men of letters.  Lisbon with its pollution, construction and congested traffic was behind us and now we were breathing the cool-clean air of a green countryside.  I was excited, thinking that at last I was to see one of the oldest and most beautiful towns in Portugal – for centuries drawing royalty, men of affluence, poets, musicians, and writers.  

At about 5 km (3 mi) from Lisbon, we stopped at the charming pink 18th century Queluz National Palace, often referred to as[,] ‘Portugal’s Versailles’.  After visiting its pousada (Portuguese hotels set in ancient buildings), housed in the former quarters of the manor’s palace staff, we turned our attention to the palace, classified as a national monument.  Once a summer seat of the Portuguese royal family, it incorporates graceful façades, embellished opulent interior halls and luxurious gardens dotted with Baroque fountains, marble vases and statues.

After a sumptuous meal in the palace’s gourmet kitchen we left for Sintra, some 16 km (10 mi) away.  Included in our group of five persons was Ed who entertained us with a never-ending string of jokes and puns.  “I loved our fish lunch today.  You know I’m a seafood lover!  Every time ‘I see food, I eat it’.”  Between laughs, I looked at him then myself.  Our sizes truly indicated that we were both ‘see food’ lovers.  

We wound our way through a hilly, but breath-taking countryside covered with meadows, trees, gorges, ravines, streams and waterfalls, dotted with attractive homes crowned by red-tiled roofs.  Traffic was stop and go and, squeezed between the cars, we could only move at a snail’s pace.  Ed’s voice beamed from the back seat, “You know!  This reminds me of an accordion – the two ends playing against the middle.”  

His comment only aroused a small ripple of laughter.  Everyone was now admiring the summer resort of Sintra – declared by UNESO as a ‘World Heritage Site’.  Called a ‘noble town’ because of its location and many castles, Sintra is surrounded by sub-tropical vegetation dominated by majestic pine trees intermixed with fields of dates, citrus fruits and pomegranates – beautified by flourishing camellia and laurel flowers.

The town’s structures combine Moorish splendour with palatial villas and gardens built by affluent Portuguese and foreign millionaires. This added to Sintra’s cool summer climate and great selection of handicrafts, have, in the last few decades, been drawing an ever-increasing number of tourists.

We passed through winding narrow streets under Moorish influenced arches on our way up a 4 km (2.4 mi) spiral road to Pena Castle – the most complete and notable example of Portuguese architecture in the Romantic period.  One of the great castles in Europe, the picturesque palace crowns the 540 m (1,771 ft) high Serra de Sintra. 

Built on a rocky peak, towering above Sintra and the surrounding plains, the castle reflects an astonishing encyclopaedia of architectural style, including Moorish, Gothic, Portuguese Manueline and the Wagnerian spirit of the Schinkel Castles in Central Europe.  Surrounded by a 200 ha (494 ac) park encompassing 400 species of trees – one of the finest in Europe – the palace, with its fairytale aura, is a supreme example of Portuguese architecture.

From this fantasy wonderland, built as a summer home for Portuguese royalty, we

made our way down the hill to the ruins of Castelo Dos Mouros (Moorish Castle) – Sintra’s oldest monument.  Dating from the 8th century, the ruins of this fortress-castle brood above the town’s thicket of red roofs and spires.  From its Moorish past, only a cistern, a horseshoe arch gate and a so-called Royal Tower remain.  For visitors, the castle’s 19th century restored ramparts afford the best view of the surrounding area. 

Back in town, we halted awhile to survey the National Palace of Sintra – a royal castle, now a national monument, dominating the town.  For 600 years it was the summer residence of Portuguese kings, but its origin dates back to Arab days when the Moorish emirs called it home. 

Today, its most important feature is the twin chimneys atop the kitchen that constitute an authentic ex-libris of Sintra.  The palace’s Mudejar, Gothic, Manueline and Renaissance architectural elements, make it one of the most important examples of regal structures in Portugal.  Its many halls and patios are covered with the world’s most important collection of Mudejar azulejos (coloured glazed tiles) – the work of former Muslim craftsmen.  Nowadays, amid these tiles, classical music concerts, official receptions and historical pageants are held. 

After driving by the restored Fonte Mourisca, an elegant Moorish type fountain, we came to Monserrate Palace, built in the 19th century by the Englishman, Francis Cook.  A small Oriental type structure with a great circular tower and bulbous cupolas, it is full of revivalist motifs, making it into a veritable symbol of romantic architectural style.  Around it, Cook planted magnificent gardens – now an important botanical museum containing over 3,000 rare species of plants from around the globe. 

From this fantasy villa we drove to Cabo da Roco, the most westerly point in continental Europe, then on to Guincho Beach where world surfing championships are held.  After resting awhile on its fine-grained sand, we followed the highway eastward through the seaside towns of Cascais with its fine villas, and sophisticated Estoril featuring an impressive casino, before reaching our hotel in Lisbon.  

To us, it was a day of fun and discovery, topped by our visit to Sintra – compared by Rose Macaulay, a 20th century English novelist, to ‘paradise’ and by the poet Afonso Lopes Vieira as ‘one of the loveliest and rarest places that nature’s prodigious hand had created’.