Sintra Views by Brad Berglund
Photos from his visit to Sintra. Can you identify where they were taken?
Sintra, Portugal
Sintra, Portugal, is both a place and a state of mind: open to the unexpected, delighting in the fantastic, and eager to explore the unknown. It is a unique blend of striking natural landscape, ancient stone monuments, elaborate gardens, magical forests, and stunning castles and palaces. Sintra has drawn people to it for more than 7,000 years.
Sintra is:
- the name of a small town in western Portugal, just a little north and west of Lisbon;
- the large municipality that encompasses it; and
- the low granite massif (also known as the Mountain of the Moon) that rises abruptly out of the plain and stretches 16 km (10 mi) from the town of Sintra to the Atlantic.
From the best-known sites—The National Palace, Quinta da Regaleira, The Castle of the Moors, and The Palace of Pena—to lesser-known but equally powerful places like The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peninha, The Chapel of Saint Eufémia, and The Monk´s Tomb and Fairy Forest, Sintra offers the visitor numerous opportunities to explore memorable places and experience magic.
Want to explore Sintra? Just click on the photos below.
Biester Palace
Our first visit to Biester Palace
Alto da Vigia
Alto da Vigia is the site of a monumental Roman sanctuary from the 2nd–3rd centuries CE.
Archaeology Museum of Saint Michael of Odrinhas
The Archaeology Museum of San Miguel de Odrinhas (MASMO) explores the history of the region for over 2,000 years, beginning with the 1st century BCE.
Mines and Tunnels
Legends abound of mysterious tunnels honeycombing Sintra Mountain.
Monk’s Tomb and the Fairy Forest
Originally discovered in 1878, the Tholos do Monge is an approximately 4,500-year-old megalithic structure.
Penedo
Penedo is considered one of the most traditional villages—if not the most traditional—in Sintra.
Saint Eufémia Chapel
On the hillside above São Pedro de Penaferrim is a chapel dedicated to Santa Eufémia
Saint Mammes Chapel
São Mamede de Janas has been sacred for a long time. Local legend asserts that there was a temple dedicated to Diana at the site.
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peninha
Located the middle of Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, Peninha is the most western of the peaks on the Monte da Lua.
Cabo da Roca
This wild and rugged promontory is the westernmost edge of the ancient eruptive Serra da Sintra.
Capuchos Convent
The Capuchos Convent, also known as the Cork Convent or the Convent of the Holy Cross of the Sintra Hills, was built in 1560.
Castle of the Moors
The massive stone walls of the Moorish Castle snake over the even more massive granite boulders that litter the sides of Sintra Mountain.
Monserrate Palace
Monserrate Palace is a palatial villa, an eclectic and charming construction, designed with rotundas and towers, arabesque cut-outs and Moorish-influenced plaster work.
National Palace of Sintra
The oldest national palace in Portugal
Palace of Pena
Buried beneath the romantic exotica of Pena Palace lies a very different story-
Quinta da Regaleira
The Regaleira Estate includes a palace and chapel, grottoes, tunnels, towers, a ziggurat, elaborate fountains, and an initiatic well.
