Sintra National Palace

Sintra is a beautiful and hilly town with at least 10 palaces in its vicinity. Way too many for me to visit this trip but I got to see one today and will visit one or two tomorrow.

The streets of Sintra are narrow and wind their way through the hills. So walking from my bed and breakfast to the palace and shops, i walked these twisted roads, surrounded by shops and restaurants that are built into the hillside and staggered on top of each other.

The National Palace of Sintra was first built in the 1100s and had wings, courtyards and floors added to it by almost every monarchy after. Most of what is on display today is from King Luis I and Queen Maria Pia, the last king and queen of portugal.

Again, the familiar portuguese tiles, Azulejos, adorn almost every room. The azulejos here are notable because they are more in the Islamic style (raised and textured) than in other historic sites.

Most of the ceilings were decorated with birds, a theme that was never properly addressed by the audio tour but maybe wasn’t as weird back then? They also had old dowry chests laying around everywhere - again, totally unexplained.

My favorite room (aside from the gift shop) was Heraldic hall. The domed ceiling was at least 60 feet tall and every inch of that room was covered in azulejos or gold. It was over the top but i found myself feeling very grateful to the artists and craftsmen who devoted their lives to building it.

The courtyard just outside the palace had an orchestra performing. It was lively and fun and there were children dancing. I also saw where Lord Bryon stayed when he visited (now full of cafes, stores, and apartments) which partially inspired him in Childe Harold to reference Sintra as ‘Glorious Eden.’ I have to agree.

The courtyard is called “Terreriro da Rainha d Amelia”, which roughly translates to the Yard of Queen Amelia. My niece’s middle name is Raine and my daughter is Amelia so it was a serendipitous moment for me.

Queen Maria Pia seemed to have over the top girly taste. Ive included a picture of her chandler and her umm ‘throne’ room.Read more