Sintra

I'd heard so much about Sintra that I booked four nights in Lisbon so that I'd have plenty of time to enjoy it. However, I decided not to book a ticket for the Pena Palace (the most popular place to see in Sintra) before I left home because I wasn't sure how early I'd want to wake up. It turns out that my body wanted to sleep until ten. 😊

So I actually waited until I was on the train to Sintra to buy my ticket for a 5:00 slot. I bought a ticket for the Quinta da Regaleira for 2pm. Both timings worked out perfectly, as I had plenty of time to walk to both places, though the walk from Quinta da Regaleira to the Pena Palace was more of a hike, with about 850 ft of elevation gain over 1.7 miles. But it was a beautiful hike on wooded paths.

The main attraction of the Quinta da Regaleira is called the Initiation Well, but it turns out that it's not a well at all. There seem to be a number of stories about its purpose, one of which is that it was part of initiation rites for the Knights Templar. More information here: https://www.quintadaregaleiratickets.com/initia…
Whatever its original purpose, it was fascinating to descend down its steps.

The Pena Palace was actually less interesting, but because of where it sits there are wonderful views.Read more