Is Sintra Worth Visiting? Pros and Cons

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Are you asking yourself: Is Sintra worth visiting? I recently did a day trip from Lisbon to Sintra and even though I enjoyed my day out, there were definitely some drawbacks.

When I first arrived in Sintra and saw the tourist crowds, I’ll admit, I wasn’t very optimistic about my day trip. However, as soon as I saw of the beautiful palaces in the middle of lush greenery and the picturesque gardens, I was quickly won over.

Sintra, with its romantic ambience and rich history, certainly lives up to the hype! But, I would still never ever visit Sintra during high season.

In this post, I’ll delve into a more detailed discussion of the pros and cons of visiting Sintra, to help you decide whether it’s worth adding to your Portugal itinerary.

Table of Contents

The Pros of Visiting Sintra

Stunning palaces

Sintra Portugal is home to multiple beautiful castles. And one of the best things about them is that they are all so different. Each palace and castle in Sintra has its unique charm, and the joy of discovering them makes Sintra worth visiting.

The outside of a gothic building, very detailed facade — The main building at Quinta da Regaleira

My favourite palace was Quinta da Regaleira, with its gothic facades, enchanting gardens, and mysterious grottos. It’s by far not the only UNESCO World Heritage Site and to me it felt like a setting out of a real-life fairytale.

I also really enjoyed walking on the castle walls of the Moorish Castle, a fascinating monument that dates back to the 8th century. Its stone ruins are perched atop a hill and it offers breathtaking views of the surrounding area.

A castle wall and tower, on one side are bushes and stones, on the other side is a town in the distance, make sure to add it to your itinerary if you do one of the SIntra day tours from Lisbon — The walls of the Castle of the Moors

Monserrate Palace is a somewhat hidden gem among Sintra’s main attractions. It’s an exotic palatial villa, in the middle of a beautiful botanical garden. The facade of this unique palace consists of a blend of Gothic, Indian, and Moorish architectural design elements.

Beautiful gardens

View down a well, there's a stairwell leading to the bottom; Is Sintra worth visiting? Yes, so you can see this amazing well — The inverted tower was one of the highlights of Sintra for me

The gardens in Sintra are just as beautiful as its palaces and castles. They are also a reason why many people add Sintra to their Portugal trip itinerary.

My personal favorite is the garden of Quinta da Regaleira. It’s an interesting place to explore with plenty of hidden spots, archways, grottos and towers that look like out of a fairy tale.

There’s also the famous initiation well, also called the inverted tower. It’s a fascinating spiral staircase leading down a well. At the bottom, you emerge into a cave system with waterfalls.

Even in mid-October during the week, I had to queue up for about 20 minutes to get access to the well.

Getting to Sintra is easy

Getting to Sintra from Lisbon is very easy, making it an excellent choice for a day trip. The best option is taking the train, it’s convenient and affordable.

Trains depart from Rossio train station in downtown Lisbon about every 20 minutes and the train journey takes about 40 minutes.

You don’t need a guided tour to Sintra from Lisbon as taking the train from Rossio station is so easy.

The only reason why a Sintra tour might be a good option is that you can combine the visit to Sintra with a visit to Cabo da Roca at the Atlantic Ocean, the westernmost point of Europe.

The Cons of Visiting Sintra

Way too many people

A big crowd of people at the Sintra train station; the train is the best way of how to get to Sintra from Lisbon — A LOT of people take the train; picture from Sintra train station

The biggest con about visiting Sintra is the crowds. It’s not uncommon to encounter long lines, crowded pathways, and a general hustle and bustle that detracts from your experience.

People recommend visiting Sintra during the week and outside peak season. Well, I did my day trip from Lisbon to Sintra in mid-October during the week and there were still so many people.

I don’t even want to know what it looks like during peak season, which is in the summer months, July and August.

When I walked through the historic city center of Sintra I was so overwhelmed by the number of people there, I pretty much skipped exploring the center and didn’t even go inside the National Palace of Sintra.

The amount of visitors Sintra gets is just crazy for such a small town and it’s one reason not to visit Sintra. So, if you explore Portugal and Spain for 2 weeks in the summer, I wouldn’t add Sintra to your itinerary.

Pena Palace is overrated

A colourful castle you can see on a Sintra day trip from Lisbon — The colorful Palácio da Pena on top of the hill is the reason why most people do a Sintra day trip

While the Pena Palace is undoubtedly impressive, it’s arguably become overrated due to its popularity.

This vibrant, multi-colored palace is overpacked with tourists. Even though you need a time-slot ticket to get inside the palace, it’s still so crowded.

The palace’s undeniable charm gets overshadowed by the crowds, long queues, and over-commercialization that often accompany popular tourist hotspots.

All in all, Pena Palace was the attraction I liked the least in Sintra. It was just too crowded for me to really enjoy it.

Sintra National Palace, it looks more like a normal big building — Sintra National Palace in the town center

Entrance prices

Each attraction in Sintra has its own entrance price and each on its own is quite reasonable. The prices are between €8 and €14 per person.

However, be mindful that if you plan to visit multiple sites, costs can rapidly add up, making your day trip somewhat expensive.

There are no combined passes available, so you really have to get a separate ticket for each palace, castle, and garden. So if you’re keen on exploring all of Sintra’s magical corners, prepare your budget accordingly.

Getting around Sintra

A tourist train next to many cars; Sintra is very crowded but I would still answer the question, Is Sintra worth visiting? with yes — The tourist train is one option of getting around Sintra

Getting around Sintra can be a bit of a challenge, adding to the list of potential downsides.

The town of Sintra and the palaces in its surroundings are located on the steep slopes of the Sintra mountains. Walking can get exhausting since the attractions are sometimes far from each other and it’s a lot of up-hill and down-hill walking.

The most popular modes of transportation in Sintra are the public tourist bus, the tourist train, Tuk Tuks and taxis. The public transportation options can get very crowded.

On top of that, the town’s narrow, winding streets aren’t built for heavy traffic, which can lead to frustrating traffic jams during peak hours.

Is Sintra Worth Visiting?

In conclusion I think with all the unique palaces, mystical gardens, and captivating history, Sintra is worth visiting.

Yes, you might encounter a few challenges, such as dealing with crowds, navigating the hilly terrain, and stretching your budget to cover all the attraction entries.

So, I recommend staying as far away from the peak summer season as possible. That way you get the unforgettable experiences Sintra offers without the downside of the big crowds.

Is Sintra Worth Visiting? Pros and Cons