Palácio de Monserrate

Monserrate is the Sintra choice for people who would rather spend two hours in a garden than in a queue. It lies west of the town centre on the road to Colares, outside the bus 434 circuit, and sees far fewer visitors than Pena or Regaleira. From the Jardim do Tabaco terminal allow about 90 minutes each way: metro to Restauradores, the train from Rossio to Sintra (about 40 minutes), then Scotturb bus 435 or Carris Metropolitana 1253 from the station. With two to two and a half hours on site, it needs a call of about eight to nine hours. Choose it over Pena or Regaleira if gardens interest you more than the famous images, if you have seen Sintra before, or if crowds put you off. On a first visit with time for one site, most people will be happier at Pena or Regaleira. Know one thing before you go: until the end of the first quarter of 2027 the palace roofs are being restored, with scaffolding and a temporary cover on the building. The palace stays open, but the exterior will not look like the photographs. The ticket (12 euros, for a date, no time slot) covers the park and the palace, whose route includes the atrium, central gallery, library, music room and kitchen, with Gothic, Indian and Moorish decoration throughout. The park is the larger part of the visit: the Fern Valley, the Japanese Garden, a Mexican-style garden of agaves and palms, Beckford's Waterfall, the Indian Arch, the rose garden and romantic ruins. Paths are long and sloping, and the electric hop-on hop-off shuttle inside the park is currently out of service. The Monserrate Tea House in the park serves light meals. Bus 435 also stops at Quinta da Regaleira, so the two pair on one bus line on a call of ten hours or more. Pena and Monserrate do not: you would have to come back to town and change buses.