I started properly researching Sintra from our hotel room in Lisbon, the night before we planned to visit. Every post I read warned of crowds, traffic, and hard-to-snag timed entry spots. This wasn’t shaping up to be the easy day trip to Sintra I’d envisioned.

Book early, the internet said. Plan in advance.

Whoops. 

My research almost put me off of this day trip altogether. Sure, a town full of castles sounded cool, but not if we were going to spend the whole day battling other tourists as we criss-crossed the city to meet timed entry requirements. 

Once I let go of my desire to see EVERYTHING in the most efficient way possible, it didn’t seem so daunting. Here’s how we had an easy day in Sintra, without getting stuck on logistics or obsessed with ticking everything off the list (no small feat for a maximizer like me).

What is Sintra?

Sintra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site roughly 30 minutes from Lisbon, making it a popular day trip. Up in the mountains, its cool temperatures and stunning scenery have attracted Portuguese royalty for centuries. Sintra has five palaces and castles, along with several elaborate residences. 

It is quite frankly overwhelming and I wasn’t sure what to prioritize.

Some, like the marquee attraction of Pena Palace, require a timed entry ticket. Others, like the National Palace of Sintra, have no time restrictions.

It’s a real choose your own adventure: save money by buying a combined ticket to different monuments, or visit only the gardens of one and the palace of another. Oh, and then there’s places like Quinta da Regaleira, which aren’t part of the “Parques de Sintra” so you’ll have to buy tickets separately. But it’s timed entry only, so make sure to line it up with the other places you’re going to see!

Confused? I sure was. 

In the end we landed on three attractions: the Moorish Castle, the National Palace of Sintra, and Quinta da Regaleira.

Transportation for a day trip to Sintra

Everything I read said not to drive to Sintra, and I’ll echo that sentiment. Parking is nonexistent, so you’d need to park outside of town and take an Uber, Bolt, or bus in. We heard that rideshares within Sintra can have a long wait, and traffic can be bad especially as the day goes on. Avoid that if you can and take a train or rideshare to and from the city instead.

To get there from Lisbon, you can catch a train (35-40 minutes, roughly €6 one-way) or take an Uber/Bolt (25 min, €15). We took an Uber straight to the Moorish Castle, followed the path downhill, explored the attractions in town, then walked to the train station and trained it back to Lisbon. 

The town itself is very walkable. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can follow an uphill trail from town past the Moorish Castle to Pena Palace; allow 45 min to an hour. It’s steep! I enjoyed walking down but wouldn’t have been in a hurry to go up. 

The tourist bus 434 runs functions as a hop-on hop-off loop around Sintra, covering “all palaces and castles,” including the farther-afield Montserrate. A 24-hour pass is €10.96. I cannot speak to the bus system as we didn’t use it; everything we wanted to see was accessible on foot so we skipped it. 

Overall, Sintra was much more navigable than I expected, if you don’t mind getting your steps in. 

What to see during a day trip to Sintra

Let’s start with the main options for a day trip to Sintra. These are the attractions you’ll see listed on the Parques de Sintra websites, plus the popular privately-managed Quinta da Regaleira. I’ve linked the websites where you can buy tickets online, and there are also ticket offices and electronic points of sale on site.

You can get a 5-10% discount when buying a ticket for more than one monument at the same time through Parques de Sintra:

• 5% for 2 locations
• 6% for 3 locations
• 7% for 4 locations
• 8% for 5 locations
• 10% for 6 (!!!) locations

I love a discount as much as the next person, but it’s not enough savings to stress over if you don’t want to lock yourself in by purchasing in advance.

All information is accurate as of 2026, and prices shown are for adult tickets. However, always check opening hours and prices as details may change without notice.

We didn’t go to all of these spots; I’ll detail the places we visited in the next section. We also visited in late April, and while timed entry tickets were slim pickings the day before, they were still available. The further into the European summer you are, the less likely that will be.

Park and National Palace of Pena

Palace opening times: 9:30am-6:30pm
Park opening times: 9:00am-7:00am
Timed entry: yes
Palace ticket (includes park): €20 
Park ticket only: €12

Commissioned by Ferdinand II, the “King-Artist” (that’s a self-assigned moniker if I’ve ever heard one), Pena is the colorful palace synonymous with Sintra. It’s right at the top of the hill and can be seen as you’re approaching the town. Pena is said to have been the inspiration for Disney’s muse Neuschwanstein Castle. I’d bet that it’s the most popular destination for a day trip to Sintra, but we skipped it (more on why later).  

Note that the Chalet and Garden of the Countess of Edla is on the palace grounds, and included in the palace entry ticket. 

The Moorish Castle

Opening times: 9:30am-6:00pm
Timed entry: no
Castle ticket: €12

Founded under Islamic rule over 1000 years ago, the castle is just below Pena Palace overlooking the city of Sintra. It has two rings of walls, one of which has a parapet walk. Absolutely incredible views of Sintra and beyond, but a bit unnerving for those with a mild fear of heights. 

There’s a short signposted trail between Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle, which takes less than 10 minutes. You can also follow the 1.2km trail from the castle into town or vice versa.

National Palace of Sintra 

Opening times: 9:30am-6:30pm
Timed entry: no
Castle ticket: €13

The National Palace is right in the heart of Sintra, recognizable by two huge white cones that jut into the sky. I was thrilled to walk into the palace kitchen and realize we were standing in the cones, which are actually chimneys. Every room in the palace bowled me over, especially what I called ‘the tile room.’ You’ll know it when you see it. 

Quinta da Regaleira

Opening times: 10:00am-7:30pm
Timed entry: Yes 
Entry ticket: €20 

Built at the end of the 19th century, this estate isn’t as old as Sintra’s other structures but it’s compelling. The extensive gardens have a fairytale feel to them and the gothic palace reminded me of Disney’s Haunted Mansion, though the interior was underwhelming. The big draw here is the mysterious nine-level Initiation Well. It’s 88 feet deep, damp and eerie with strong secret society vibes. 

You can walk here from the center of town in 10-15 minutes, but be aware that the entrance is at the top of a steep driveway that curves around the property. You’ll exit at the bottom. 

Villa Sassetti

Opening times: 10:00am-6:00pm
Timed entry: no
Free access to the gardens and the hiking trail

Villa Sassetti’s standout feature is its Mediterranean-inspired circular three-story tower, which can be seen in the hills from town, and from above at the Moorish Castle. It’s a ten minute walk from the center of town, and it’s free to wander the gardens though you can’t enter the building itself. 

Outside of Sintra

Several attractions are outside of Sintra itself. We didn’t venture this far in our day trip to Sintra, but these would be great additions to a longer itinerary. 

Park and Palace of Monserrate

8km west of Sintra
Opening times: 9:00am-7:00pm
Timed entry: No
Entry ticket: €12

This stunning residence and gardens has passed through many hands since it was built in 1540. The roofs are undergoing restoration work until Q1 2027, so you’ll have to wait until afterwards to see it in all its glory. 

National Palace and Gardens of Queluz

16km southeast of Sintra
Opening times: 9:00am-6:00pm
Timed entry: No
Palace and gardens ticket: €13

Another former party destination for the Portuguese Royal Family, the photos remind me of Austria’s Schönbrunn Palace. It’s also home to the headquarters to the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art, so if you’re into horse art, this one’s for you.

Our day trip to Sintra itinerary

Here’s where we landed with our day, with approximate time stamps to help you plan your day in Sintra. Jared and I don’t tend to linger in places so you may want to allow longer at the attractions!

You’ll also notice that we skipped Pena Palace. The only available time slots were for the afternoon, which would have meant backtracking up the mountain, so we decided to skip it. Based on what I’ve read about the interior I don’t regret it, but if we’d been able to get a slot in the morning we probably would have checked it out.  

We could have bought a garden-only ticket for Pena but in the interest of time, decided not to. I was so enamored with the Moorish Castle I didn’t regret this either, but to each their own! 

Day trip to Sintra from Lisbon 

9:30am-10:00am: Uber from hotel (Sete Rios area) to Moorish Castle
10:00am-10:20am: Trail to Pena Palace to take pictures of the outside
10:20am-11:15am: Trail to Moorish Castle, explore Moorish Castle 
11:15am-11:40am: Trail from Moorish Castle to town, water stop
11:40am-11:50am: Walk to National Palace
11:50am-12:15pm: Explore National Palace 
12:15pm-12:50pm: Lunch at Villa Craft Beer & Bread
12:50pm-1:10pm: Walk to Quinta da Regaleira (our entry time block was 1:00-1:30pm)
1:10pm-1:50pm: Explore Quinta da Regaleira
1:50pm-2:15pm: Walk to train station
2:15pm-2:48pm: Train to Lisbon (33 min to Sete Rios on the Oriente-Sintra Line)

Takeaways from our day trip to Sintra

I really loved the Moorish Castle and every single room in the National Palace, and would recommend both wholeheartedly. We were really happy with our decision to take an Uber there and the train back; it allowed us to stay flexible throughout the day and on our own time.

Our snack break at Villa Craft Beer & Bread was a perfect stop. It’s just on the outside of the main touristy area, a short walk from the palace. Jared got a decent stout and I had an excellent flat white from the in-house coffee shop, Loja 5. The food portions are generous! We had a ham and cheese sandwich (€3) and vegetable bruschetta (€3.50) that was more like a flatbread pizza. Both delicious and large. 

I was less enthusiastic about Quinta da Regaleira. The initiation well was the main draw for me, and it was pretty impressive. We had to line up for about 5 minutes to get in and make our way down the winding walls.

The grounds were beautiful, but by that point in the day I was slowing down and the crowds were building. Looking back, if I had to drop one spot from our itinerary it would be this one. With that said, if we’d skipped it I’d be sitting here writing about how disappointed to have missed the well.

Go with the flow for an easy day trip to Sintra

My advice is not to overthink it! We almost talked ourselves out of a day trip to Sintra because of our lack of planning, but that would have been a big miss. I don’t regret skipping Pena and I’m glad we chose just three attractions to visit. If we’d tried to squeeze in more, it would have become overwhelming.

Sintra is a beautiful spot, an easy day trip from Lisbon, and worth visiting even if you only have a day to check it out!

Pin this for your trip to Sintra!