Castles and Cultivated Utopias in Sintra
Sintra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site clustered with castles, palaces, parks, and religious buildings. That description doesn't quite do justice to what is actually here. We started off our day trip grounded in history (a ruined Moorish castle, the royal palace), but ended up finishing with a strange sense of experiencing something fantastical. We glimpsed not only where these people lived, but also where they dreamed.
The lovely little town of Sintra. Sitting up high above on the hill is a glimpse of our first castle (see next picture).
The Castelo Mouros, or the Moorish Castle, was a military fort built by Muslims in the 10th century.
The National Palace of Sintra was the royal palace and continually inhabited for about 500 years. Those two white pointy things on top are two massive chimneys from the kitchens.
The painted ceilings in the castle lend to room names. Here is the ceiling of the Swann's Room.
The ceiling of Blazon's Hall is populated with 72 coat-of-arms of the King and important noble families and pictures of stags frolicking...or trying not to be hunted.
Okay, that ends the more historical part of our tour. This...is the Quinta da Regaleira, a summer residence. Although pretty, it's not the main attraction. It's the mysteriously crafted gardens behind it that stole the show for us.
Stepping into the gardens is like stepping into another world. Each twist and turn on the path (and off the path) leads to something surprising. For example, Regaleira Tower looms over the path like a medieval playhouse with turrets for climbing and small rooms for hiding.
Alright, so a fabricated tower is neat, but there's more. There's peaceful grottoes for those who like a place to sit and contemplate, or in Jimmy's case, read a map.
There are underground caves to explore.
The Initiation Well. Spiral down 27 meters into the earth and see what you find at the bottom.
The bottom of the well looking up. Don't feel like climbing the steps back to the surface? Try your luck with one of the underground caves that feed into this and see where you end up.
The Palace of Pena, a more recent palace at around 100 years old, but pure fairytale nonetheless.
Pena Palace is high up on a hill (don't walk like we did) and the views are amazing.
A lot of people just visit the palace, then leave, but there's a whole surrounding park area to explore filled with things to keep nobility entertained. A creepy minor chapel sits in the woods.
The Tank of the Friars, a pool rimmed with rose bushes and benches. Perfect place to read a book.
For something a little more exotic, the Fountain of Small Birds. There's so much more in this park to see and do, but we'll leave that to your imagination.