Castelo dos Mouros

The Moorish Castle sits on the ridge just below Pena, and most cruise passengers who reach it treat it as an add-on: bus 434 stops at the castle and then at Pena, and the two entrances are a short walk apart on the same road. The more useful question is whether to visit it instead of Pena. It is worth choosing over Pena if you mainly want the views. From the walls you look across to Pena itself, down to the town and the National Palace, and on clear days out to the Atlantic. There is no timed entry, the ticket is 12 euros against 20 for Pena's Essential Visit, and the visit is shorter, 60 to 90 minutes. Choose Pena if you want an interior: the castle is a walled ruin with no furnished rooms. The visit is physical. The walls follow the rock, with uneven steps, steep stretches and drops beside the walkways, and the ridge is exposed to wind. In low cloud the views, which are the point of coming, disappear, so check the forecast before committing a long call to it. Inside the walls are the Arms Square, where the garrison gathered; the Castle Keep at one of the highest points; grain silos cut into the rock; and the church of São Pedro de Canaferrim, now an interpretation centre with finds from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Nearby is the tomb Ferdinand II built for bones found during his restoration, inscribed 'What man brought together, only God may separate', because no one could tell whether they were Christian or Moorish. From the Jardim do Tabaco terminal allow 75 to 90 minutes each way: metro to Restauradores, train from Rossio, then bus 434. The castle alone fits a call of seven to eight hours; with Pena as well, plan on about ten. Last entry is 17:30, earlier than at Pena.