One day in Sintra, Portugal | Mini-Van life

Sintra, is a town close to Lisbon, just a 45 minute drive away and is home to some of the richest historic castles in Portugal. In one day you can see what Sintra has to offer, from a stroll through the old town, you can hike up the hill where you will find two of the most prominent castles, once the Moorish Castle and once the National Palace of Pena. As I am traveling with my dog, I only visit dog friendly places and in Sintra the only place allowing dogs is the Moorish Castle, which is why that's the only one explored in this blog post, but honestly its so beautiful and you see the Palace from this site, I feel you can do Sintra with visiting only this location. From up there you also have spectacular views over Sintra, the ocean all way to Lisbon. Read on to discover more!

You can stroll through the old town (where you can also park) to get a flair of the city. You'll find small stands along the roads of these old buildings.

Heading up towards the Castle, you walk through a cute park, some stone pathways alongside houses until you eventually make your way up the forest nature path to the castles! This walk will be a good 30-40 minutes, but the different plants, boulders and ruins you see whilst walking up are truly beautiful!

P.s. if you have a dog, whilst walking, attach his leash to your shorts, it's quite entertaining to walk like that ;)

Once at the top in the Castle, there is an entry fee of 12Euros to pay (dogs are for free), but it's truly beautiful walking alone the walls of the castle. Heading from tower to tower, you will be occupied for a good hour whilst also admiring the views from different standpoints.

You will have plenty of stunning views of Sintra, the ocean and even Lisbon, and other gorgeous places hidden in the trees and nature below.

From the highest point of the Moorish castle, you have a perfect view of the National Palace of Pena, and the colours really are beautiful!

Click the video below, to watch the vlog of my day in Sintra :)

As Atlantis and I went in the morning, we had a few hours left in the afternoon, and since there is an incredible dog beach in Colares (15 minutes from Sintra) we spent the afternoon at the beach, "Praia Pequena do Rodízio" which I only can highly recommend when in this area!

Often you can see the best parts of a city or town within one day which allows you to feel historic places for yourself so you can learn more about history and create your own opinion about the past!

Much love,

Isa xxx