Sintra, Portugal, 4K

Join me on a walking tour of the historic center of Sintra.
Date: February 20, 2022.
Location: 30 km west of Lisbon.

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--------------- Video chapters:
0:00 Synthesis
0:24 Sintra Railway Station
3:18 Municipal Chamber of Sintra
9:08 Moorish font
12:06 Sintra National Palace
20:43 Historic center
26:26 Cantinho Lord Byron
29:22 Fountain of Pisões
30:27 Quinta da Regaleira



-------------- Places visited on this tour:

We start the tour at the beautiful Sintra Railway Station which was inaugurated on the 2nd of April 1887. It is the end point of the train coming from Lisbon and has two very beautiful tile murals.
From this station there are transports to other places in Sintra, such as Palácio da Pena.

Then we go along Rua João de Deus to the Municipal Chamber of Sintra, which is on the way to the historic centre. The chamber was built between 1906 and 1909 and stands out for its architectural beauty.
Rua Volta do Duche starts near the Sintra City Hall building, covers the route to the historic center of Sintra and is full of surprises: the Fábrica das Verdadeiras Queijadas de Sapa, the entrance to the Anjos Teixeira Museum, the entrance to the Parque da Liberdade, Fonte Mourisca, and you can still see several temporary exhibitions that liven up the street, as well as the craft fairs and artists who pass by to show their work.

The Fábrica das Verdadeiras Queijadas de Sapa started the production of traditional cheesecake Queijadas de Sintra in 1756 by Maria Sapa and, passing from generation to generation, it maintains production until today.
The Mourisca Fountain is a work from 1922, made by the sculptor José da Fonseca. According to the author of the work, the fountain was designed to “dignify the most appreciated water in Sintra”. It is a living example of the modernist architecture of the 20s and a mandatory stop on the way to the historic center of Sintra.

At the end of Rua Volta do Duche we arrive at Praça da República, the “centre of the city historical centre”, where the National Palace of Sintra is located, also known as Paço Real or Palácio da Vila, dating from the end of the 14th century.
Its two huge conical twin chimneys (33 meters tall), from the Palace kitchen, are the image of this Palace and completely dominate the landscape of this historical centre, classified as world heritage by UNESCO.
In its origin this was a Moorish Palace, being years after one of the preferred places of Portuguese kings and queens, even though the palace that we can see nowadays has suffered changes all over the centuries and new parts were increased to the initial structure.
Sintra National Palace is unique amongst the royal mediaeval palaces in Portugal, forever linked to the most significant periods of the Portuguese History.

The Historic Center provides a visit to the noble space of Vila de Sintra where, walking through the alleys and alleys of Vila Velha, we get to know its stories, in a summary of historical, literary and ethnographic, prehistoric, medieval and romantic approaches.

Cantinho Lord Byron is a very cozy restaurant in the middle of the historic centre. In 1809, Lord Byron, one of the greatest poets in the English language, visited Sintra and wrote that “…the village of Sintra is perhaps the most beautiful in the world”.

The current Fonte dos Pisões, designed by Mestre José da Fonseca, was built in 1931, and replaced a previous tank, with a chronology dating back to at least the 1500s.

After a walk through the narrow alleys, through the stores selling regional products and after passing by the Fonte dos Pisões, we went to the Palace and Quinta da Regaleira. It is a 19th century palace. XIX, although it seems to be older, with impressive decoration, rich in Masonic symbology.

At Quinta da Regaleira, the real attraction are the gardens, which conceal secret passages, mystical symbolism and even a Knights of Templar initiation well.