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Sintra

A glorious Eden

By Emma-Jane Browne

July 21^st, 2019

A short train ride from Lisbon, Sintra is a picturesque historical resort town. In the late 18th & 19th century, Sintra attracted many aristrocats, moved by the Romantic mouvement, resulting in the construction of several palaces and mansions. Much of the landscape is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was definitely one of the highlight of my amazing trip to Lisbon. Now there are many many things to see, and you can't manage to see everything in one day, so I made a few difficult choices, and settled on visiting the Castle of the Moors, the Palácio da Pena & the Quinta da Regaleira (<3).

Castle of the Moors

Built by the Moors in the 8th & 9th centuries - during Al-Aldalus, the castle was later taken over by Christians. Remodeled and reconstructed of the centuries, it gradually lost it's military importance and was gradually abandoned, and is now overgrown by vegetation, which gives it quite a lovely feel.

It's position, high a top a hill, give a fantastic view of the area and the Sintra Cultural Landscape.

Palácio da Pena

Once the site of a monastery, reduced to ruins by the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755, the lands were bought by King consort Ferdinand II, to build a summer palace. Moved by Romanticism, he commissioned the ecclectic palace. He was deeply involved in the design, suggesting architectural elements of various origin.

Quinta da Regaleira

My last visit of the day - and my favourite, was this eccentric estate. Built at the very en of the 19th century in the Neo-Manueline style, it is composed of various elements and references to symbolism, romanticism, freemasons and alchemia.