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Sintra Colours

Old Town Sintra

April 18, 2013 By Jan Robinson 36 Comments

This post may contain compensated links. We may earn a small percentage if you book through a compensated link, but it won’t cost you any more by doing so. You can read our full disclaimer here.


LAST WEEK’s post covered our 2012 arrival from Lisbon and Sintra’s beautiful statues.  Just before reaching the town proper I spied what looked like a Moorish Fountain.  Still used as a drinking fountain, the  Arab Fountain, was actually built around 1922 by local sculptor José da Fonseca.  Moorish in looks only!

The Arab/Moorish Fountain.

Sintra Moorish Fountain

What is a tourist town without a tourist train?

Sintra Tourist Train.  The Jewel of Portugal.

Skirting the faux train we headed for the tourist office to discover more about bus 434 that does the rounds of the attractions on the Serra de Sintra hills, the train station, and the town.   Then we went looking for some pasteis de nata.

These pastries are famous in Belem, Lisbon, but I may or may not have got my notes mixed, so we tried them here instead!

Sintra is actually famous for the pastry Travesseiros (a sugar coated pastry pillow) and Queijadas de Sintra (a cold cheesecake) which can be sampled at Piriquita or Casa do Preto.

(I chuckle thinking about the travel competition I entered recently that deduced my travel style as “Tidy Messy Traditionalist.)

When we located our pastries, in a cute cafe on a cute cobblestone lane, they looked just like the burnt custard tarts they were meant to look like.  Identical to those in Belem, I like to think that they are universally good.  Of course those of us who did not get their notes mixed,  might feel that the Casa Pasties de Belem at Rua de Belem 84, Lisbon serves superior ones.

Pastel de Nata, Sintra

The Bus 434 that would deliver us to Castello des Mouros arrived late at the stop near the central tourist office.  Those who didn’t score a seat (us) were packed in like bottled anchovies, where we swayed together in solidarity, attempting to stay upright on the steep switchbacks.  It was great fun, but hopefully any passengers who were unsteady on their feet would be offered a seat.

Bus 434 has a strangle hold and charges accordingly.

We paid 5 Euro each (2012) for a round trip as we only wished to visit one attraction on the hill.  Most people would buy the all day round trip ticket at a cost of 10 Euro each.  The first bus does not leave the town until 10.15 a.m. after which they leave every 40 minutes (length of the round trip).  In the height of summer I believe they add more buses.

Budget Options.

  • Purchase a single bus trip up the hill for 2.75 Euro and walk back down – there is a dedicated walkway.
  • Time and energy allowing, walk to Castello dos Mouros (50 minutes), and then a further 20 to Palacia Pena.  A little further again to the views from the Cruz Alta, the highest point.

Colourful Sintra.

Sintra Colours

Do you think the women in the photo below are tourists or locals?

Sintra Women Talking

Looking up to our destination.

Sintra Buildings plus Castle

Main attractions within the town/hill (Serra de Sintra) area.  Prices in Euro.

  • Castello des Mouros (7  Adult, 6  Child) Walk or Bus 434 – 3.5 km up on Serra de Sintra (our choice)
  • Palacia Pena (13.50 Adult, 11 Child) Walk or Bus 434 –  the stop after the Castello
  • Palacia National de Sintra (9 Adult, 7 Child, 31 Family) Walk – in the old town
  • Quinta da Regaleira, (6 Adult, 4 Child, 18 Family)  NOT on Bus 434 route.  1km walk.  DIRECTIONS here.

There are OTHER ATTRACTIONS in the area – enough to warrant staying for longer!

Join BTT next week for spectacular views from the battlements of Castello dos Mouros.

BUDGET TRAVELERS SANDBOX hosts Travel Photo Thursday each week.  Pop on over for a look.  Linked also with R WE THERE YET MOM?

 

 

 

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Filed Under: Portugal

About Jan Robinson

Jan Robinson writes about travel on her Budget Travel Talk blog. A solo traveller in her teens, for the last 40 years Jan has travelled through Australia, Asia, Europe, Turkey and New Zealand with her husband. They specialise in road trips, caravanning and Independent travel without spending a fortune. Her favourite destination is Turkey and she is currently dreaming of Myanmar and Mexico.

Previous Post: «Sintra Royal Palace The Jewel in Portugal’s Crown is… Sintra
Next Post: Fantastic Friday – Dry Gulch Provincial Park Campfire Heaven Dry Gulch Provincial Park Camp Fire»

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aleah | SolitaryWanderer.com

    April 18, 2013 at 3:04 pm

    Love the tourist train! It reminds me of the toy train in Darjeeling, India. Would love to try it out 🙂

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 18, 2013 at 3:07 pm

      Ha Ha – sorry I don’t know the details on that one. It is cute though 🙂

      Reply
  2. Johanna at ZigaZag WA Travel & Lifestyle

    April 18, 2013 at 5:20 pm

    Sintra looks such an interesting place to visit and the architecture is stunning. Love the houses rising up the hillside and the distant view of castle ramparts at the top.

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 18, 2013 at 7:13 pm

      I love the houses too 🙂

      Reply
  3. Johanna at ZigaZag WA Travel & Lifestyle

    April 18, 2013 at 5:25 pm

    I’ve just commented, but not sure if it went through?

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 18, 2013 at 7:13 pm

      Yep, I got it – all’s good.

      Reply
  4. Mary {The World Is A Book}

    April 18, 2013 at 5:57 pm

    It really is great to find out there’s more to Sintra than its main attraction. the pastry looks delicious! I think the women give off a tourist vibe 🙂

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 18, 2013 at 7:12 pm

      I think tourist as well 🙂

      Reply
  5. Muza-chan

    April 18, 2013 at 6:52 pm

    Great photos 🙂

    Reply
  6. Leigh

    April 19, 2013 at 12:07 am

    Sintra was the first town I came across where chickens were allowed to wander in and out of cafes & open air restaurants. I loved that aspect to the place but wonder if it’s still allowed. I love the riot of colourful buildings against a blue sky – but as you can appreciate I am looking for colour!!

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 19, 2013 at 8:56 am

      We only spent time in the old city of Sintra where the tourists hang out and there were certainly no chickens 🙂 I hope it still occurs in some parts of town though.

      Reply
  7. Average Traveller

    April 19, 2013 at 2:20 am

    I love the pastry picture! I’ve had the burnt custard tart before in Macau. In Chinese we call them po-tarts since they are the Portuguese versions of our egg tarts (which are almost the same but not broiled on top).

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 19, 2013 at 8:55 am

      When I was researching this post I noticed Wikipedia’s photo of pastel de nata, was from Macau. It is very interesting how food culture spreads with colonialism 🙂

      Reply
  8. Lisa from Gone With The Family

    April 19, 2013 at 2:49 am

    We have been on a few tourist trains like that because the kids really wanted to ride. Sintra looks lovely and the pastry delicious! I’m not certain whether the women are tourists or locals – if only I could see what they were wearing on their feet. 😉

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 19, 2013 at 8:50 am

      Do you think that their shoes would give their identity away?

      Reply
  9. Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista

    April 19, 2013 at 5:08 am

    There are tourist trains everywhere, aren’t there? Sintra looks very interesting and beautiful. I bet the views from the hill are amazing!

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 19, 2013 at 8:49 am

      The views are amazing 🙂

      Reply
  10. Marisol@TavelingSolemates

    April 19, 2013 at 10:14 am

    Hi jan, the fountains remind me of the ones in Morocco. The pastry looks worth the trek to find it. Love the colorful structures and the homes on the hill. I think the ladies are tourist.

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 19, 2013 at 11:48 am

      I love Morocco and I too am leaning toward tourists 🙂

      Reply
  11. InsideJourneys

    April 19, 2013 at 2:20 pm

    Love all the colors, Sintra’s so bright and beautiful.
    Hard to tell but I’m going to say they’re locals — the women in the photo, I mean.

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 19, 2013 at 2:35 pm

      Thanks for your comment. Tourists are winning at the moment 🙂

      Reply
  12. Danielle (Bubs on the Move)

    April 19, 2013 at 7:12 pm

    What a beautiful fountain to get a drink of water from. I’m sure we would have ended up on the tacky tourist train if we were there!

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 20, 2013 at 10:32 am

      Ha Ha, That is what happens when our kids are little. But they grow up and before long our tourist train days are behind us 🙂

      Reply
  13. Andrea, Passports And Pushchairs

    April 19, 2013 at 11:27 pm

    I loved Sintra, it was such a cute city!

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 20, 2013 at 10:28 am

      Agreed 🙂

      Reply
  14. Malaysian Meanders

    April 20, 2013 at 1:11 am

    Those pastries look delicious! I really like your description of the bus ride.

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 20, 2013 at 10:27 am

      I am glad you liked the description – I tried hard to paint a picture 🙂

      Reply
  15. Becca@R We There Yet Mom?

    April 20, 2013 at 5:38 am

    The pastries and cheesecake sound divine!

    Thanks for linking up!

    Reply
  16. Dick Jordan

    April 20, 2013 at 10:12 am

    Nice shots. Looks like an interesting place.

    Reply
  17. Sophie

    April 22, 2013 at 2:19 am

    I loved the Moorish fountain in Sintra. And can’t believe I still haven’t tried pasteis de nata.

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 22, 2013 at 11:28 am

      Pasteis de nata, actually taste better than they look 🙂

      Reply
  18. Nancie

    April 24, 2013 at 7:36 am

    I love this town and your shots! To me, those women look likes locals. They are walking with a “we belong here” attitude 🙂

    Reply
    • Jan

      April 24, 2013 at 9:51 am

      You are right they certainly look “at ease”. Inside Journey’s thinks so too. Lisa from Gone with Family wants to check out their shoes first. Originally I thought tourists. Guess we will never know 🙂

      Reply
  19. Lisa Wood

    May 5, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    I am drooling over all of your photos from the Town Sintra. OH my gosh….I am so going to come back here anytime I need a travel photo fix! And the photo looks like they are locals, not tourist 🙂

    Reply
    • Jan

      May 6, 2013 at 9:19 am

      Ah one more vote for the locals! I absolutely love Portugal 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. A Panoramic View over Sintra: Castelo Mouros says:
    April 28, 2013 at 7:16 pm

    […] Previous Posts on this Subject:  THE JEWEL IN PORTUGALS CROWN IS…SINTRA and  OLD SINTRA TOWN, […]

    Reply

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