Sintra Day Trip

Sintra is the misty hill town 40 minutes by train from Lisbon where Portuguese kings, Moorish emirs and 19th-century romantics all built fantasies into the forested slopes. The result is a UNESCO-listed cluster of palaces, gardens and ruins so densely packed you cannot do them justice in less than a full, fast-paced day. May is the perfect time to go — wildflowers in the parks, mild temperatures, and the famous Sintra cloud (the locals call it the saudade) lifts more often than in winter.

Sintra was a sacred site for the ancient Celts and a summer retreat for the Moorish emirs of Lisbon. The Romantic-era king Ferdinand II bought the ruined monastery of Pena and transformed it into the rainbow castle that defines the skyline. Lord Byron called Sintra a 'glorious Eden' in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and put it on the European Grand Tour. The Quinta da Regaleira's inverted initiation well is rumoured to relate to Masonic and Templar symbolism, though most of it is excellent storytelling.

Two pastries are non-negotiable in Sintra: travesseiros (puff-pastry pillows filled with egg-yolk-and-almond cream) from Piriquita on Rua das Padarias, and queijadas (small cheese-and-cinnamon tarts) from the same shop. Both have been made by the same family for over a hundred years. For a proper lunch, Tascantiga in the town centre serves Portuguese small plates well. Pair with a glass of vinho verde or Colares, the local salt-air wine.

April to June and September to October are the best windows — mild, dry, beautiful. Summer (July to August) is busy and the queues at Pena Palace genuinely 90 minutes long without timed tickets. Winter is mystical with the famous mist but very wet — bring serious waterproofs. Pena Palace's gardens are at their best in spring with the camellia blooms.

Take the train from Lisbon's Rossio station (40 minutes, €4.50 return) — don't drive, the parking is impossible. Buy timed-entry tickets online for Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira the night before. Bus 434 loops the hill from the station; bus 403 reaches Cabo da Roca and Cascais. Wear proper walking shoes; the cobbled streets are slippery in light rain.

Skip the famous Pena Palace queue and visit the equally beautiful but much quieter Monserrate Palace — Moorish-Gothic fusion with extraordinary subtropical gardens. End the day at Cabo da Roca, mainland Europe's westernmost point, for sunset over the Atlantic.