While at the conference (even better, before or after it), savour the magic of Sintra, one of the most beautiful towns in the world, and certainly one of the most romantic. Enjoy a ride in a horse-drawn carriage and discover the mysteries of the mountains and the Quinta da Regaleira, letting yourself be charmed by the town’s rich and unique architectural heritage, of which the Palácio da Pena (see the Home Page) has become one of the great hallmarks.
In Sintra you will be spoiled for choice among so many monuments, museums and parks of great cultural interest. Below you will find a (necessarily) small list of our suggestions, with basic information concerning their history, location, opening times and prices. In Sintra’s municipality web site you can find more information about these and other attractions that are worth visiting
We hope you can discover some of the wonderful places in this unique region.
Sintra National Palace (Palácio Nacional de Sintra)
This National Monument, also designated as Royal Palace, is the dominant architectural feature of Sintra. Situated in the centre of the village, just opposite to the conference venue, it is one of the most important Portuguese examples of royal architecture.
The National Palace is part of the built heritage included in UNESCO’s world heritage list as “Sintra cultural landscape”. It was probably constructed on the site of the Moorish Alcazar of Sintra and displays features from two main periods, the early 15th century and the early 16th century.
Sintra National Palace has the greatest collection of Mudéjar tiles on the Iberian Peninsula and is topped by two large chimneys built over the kitchen, which have become the symbol of Sintra.
Address: Largo Rainha D. Amélia, 2710-616 Sintra; opposite to the conference location
Telephone: (+351) 21 910 68 40
Fax: (+351) 21 910 68 51
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Pena National Palace (Palácio Nacional da Pena)
Pena National Palace is also a National Monument, part of the built heritage included in UNESCO’s world heritage list as “Sintra cultural landscape”.
Pena National Palace, built approximately 500 meters above sea level, started as a Hieronymus Monastery of Our Lady of Pena, dated from 1503. In 1839, King Fernando of Saxe-Coburgo-Gotha, husband of Queen Maria II, bought the monastery, which had been abandoned after being severely damaged by the earthquake of 1755. The King rebuilt it with the help of the Prussian engineer Ludwig von Eschwege, whose inspiration came from the palaces in Bavaria. The architecture of Pena National Palace is eclectic in its use of Egyptian, Moorish, Gothic and Renaissance elements, being the most remarkable example of Portuguese Romantic architecture.
Address: Estrada da Pena, 2710-609 Sintra; you can take Scotturb bus no. 434 from the village centre and trekking is also possible (see here; choose “Tourism and Culture” – “Touristic Itineraries” – “Short Routes” – “Pena”).
Telephone: (+351) 21 910 53 40
Fax: (+351) 21 910 53 41
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Pena Park (Parque da Pena)
Also a result from King Fernando’s inspiration, Pena Park was again built with the collaboration of Ludwig von Eschwege.
This Park, covering an area of 200 hectares around the Pena Palace, was designed in order to appear natural and in harmony with the surroundings. King Fernando imported plants that were characteristic of different places in the world, and planted them side by side with Portuguese species, in a total of over 2000 species. The most remarkable features in the Pena Park are the Garden of the Camellias, composed of camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons, and the English Garden, composed of unique specimens of Cycas. Spread through the Park are also pavilions in various architectural styles, lakes, fountains and viewpoints offering amazing vistas.
Address: Estrada da Pena, 2710-609 Sintra; you can take Scotturb bus no. 434 from the village centre and trekking is also possible (see here; choose “Tourism and Culture” – “Touristic Itineraries” – “Short Routes” – “Pena”).
Telephone: (+351) 21 923 73 00
Fax: (+351) 21 923 73 50
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros)
The Moorish Castle, winding over two peaks of Serra de Sintra, is also part of the built heritage included in UNESCO’s world heritage list as “Sintra cultural landscape”.
The Castle was probably built in the 8th century, but was certainly used by the Moorish in the 9th century. The main purpose of the Moorish Castle was to watch over Lisbon and its surroundings. When, in 1147, Dom Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, conquered Lisbon from the Moorish, the Castle was voluntarily abandoned by its occupants.
In the romantic period, around 1860, King Fernando of Saxe-Goburgo-Gotha restored the Castle’s walls and afforested the surrounding area. Of great interest is the Moorish Cistern in the castle interior, as well as the Royal Tower.
Address: Estrada da Pena, 2710-609 Sintra; you can take Scotturb bus no. 434 from the village centre and trekking is also possible (see here; choose “Tourism and Culture” – “Touristic Itineraries” – “Short Routes” – “Moorish Castle”).
Telephone: (+351) 21 923 73 00
Fax: (+351) 21 923 73 50
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Capuchos Monastery (Convento dos Capuchos)
The Capuchos Monastery, also known as Santa Cruz Monastery or Cork Monastery, was built in 1560 by Dom Álvaro de Castro, in fulfilment of a vow made by his father, in an isolated and harsh area in Sintra.
This Monastery, which was the house of Franciscan friars, became famous by its extreme poverty and austerity, as can be seen from the main entrance, the tiny cells, the little chapel, the refectory, all installed in the rock and lined with cork. The very small scale of the Monastery makes it hard to imagine people living there. The Capuchos Monastery was probably abandoned in 1834, with the extinction of religious orders in Portugal.
The forest around the Monastery, with its old oaks, shrubs, ferns and epiphytic flora, is probably the best example of Sintra’s primitive forest.
Address: Estrada dos Capuchos, 2710 Sintra; 8 km from the conference location.
Telephone: (+351) 21 923 73 00
Fax: (+351) 21 923 73 50
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Monserrate Park (Parque de Monserrate)
The Monserrate Park, covering an area of 50 hectares, was initially a farm of orchards and cultivated land. In 1540 the priest Gaspar Preto built in this location a hermitage after travelling to the sanctuary of Nossa Senhora de MontSerrat in Catalonia, which explains the current name of the Park.
It was only in 1790 that Monserrate became a Park, when the English Gerard DeVisme rented the farm from its owners and built a neo-Gothic Palace. In the early 19th century, the famous poet Lord Byron visited the Park and sang it in the Book “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”. In 1856 the English Sir Francis Cook bought the Park and, inspired by the Romantic period, rebuilt the Palace, giving it an oriental trace. With the help of the botanist William Neville, the landscape painter William Stockdale and the master-gardener James Burt, Cook created contrasting setting along the Park paths that wind through ruins, nooks, waterfalls and lakes. The garden is organised into plant collections from the five continents, in a total of over 2500 species.
Address: Estrada de Monserrate, 2710-405 Sintra; 4 km from the conference location.
Telephone: (+351) 21 923 73 00
Fax: (+351) 21 923 73 50
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Regaleira Palace and Gardens (Quinta da Regaleira e Jardins)
Regaleira Palace, situated at the historic centre of Sintra, is also part of the built heritage included in UNESCO’s world heritage list as “Sintra cultural landscape”.
The origins of this place date back to 1697, when the property was bought by José Leite, but it was only by the late 19th century that the history of the Palace and Gardens begins. In 1892 Carvalho Monteiro, an eccentric capitalist that had made a huge fortune in Brazil, bought the property and hired the Italian architect Luigi Manini to conceive a place that gathered, on the one hand, a sum of artistic currents (Gothic, Manueline and Renaissance) and, on the other hand, the glorification of national history influenced by mythic and esoteric traditions.
A great variety of Masonic symbols is present in Regaleira Palace and Gardens. An important example is the magnificent “Poço Iniciático” (Initiation Well), looking like an upside down tower, where at every 15 steps a plateau is reached, in a total of nine leading to the depths of the earth. The nine plateaus remind the nine circles of Hell, the nine sections of Purgatory and the nine heavens of Paradise, as designated by Dante.
Address: Rua Barbosa du Bocage, 2710-567 Sintra; 10 min walking from the conference location.
Telephone: (+351) 21 910 66 50
Fax: (+351) 21 924 47 25
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Toy Museum (Museu do Brinquedo)
The Toy Museum is located in a completely renovated building from the 18th century, which was in the past Sintra’s fire brigade headquarters.
Working since 1997, the museum houses part of a wonderful toy collection gathered during more than 50 years by João Arbués Moreira. This collection includes a great variety of play work, from toys with more than 2000 years, to cars and train devices from the beginning of the 20th century.
Address: Rua Visconde de Monserrate, 2710-591 Sintra; 10 min walking from the conference location.
Telephone: (+351) 21 924 21 71
Fax: (+351) 21 923 00 59
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Sintra Modern Art Museum (Sintra Museu de Arte Moderna)
The Sintra Modern Art Museum is located in an impressive building from 1920, which started to be Sintra’s casino.
This museum houses part of the modern art collection gathered by Joe Berardo, containing international works of art that have been collected since 1945. The Berardo collection is considered one of the greatest private art collections of the 20th century, including names as Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol.
Address: Avenida Heliodoro Salgado, 2710-575 Sintra; 20 min walking from the conference location
Telephone: (+351) 21 924 81 70
Fax: (+351) 21 924 81 77
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.
Sintra’s tram to the coast
The idea of a tram line connecting Sintra to Colares and Praia das Maçãs (Apples’ Beach) dates back to 1886, but it was only in 1904 that the tram started working, with a total track’s extension of more than 12 km. By the late 1940’s, the tramway begins to decay and completely stops working in 1974, being replaced by regular buses. Since the mid-80’s small sections of the track restarted working. In 2004, the year of its 100th birthday, the entire track, connecting Sintra to Praia das Maçãs, was finally reopened.
The tramway starts at Estefânia, near Sintra’s Modern Art Museum.
More information (email, website, prices and opening hours) will be available here soon.