Sintra

Sintra is a place where reality blurs into fairy tale - a mystical mountain town that has inspired poets from Lord Byron to Hans Christian Andersen. Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Landscape in 1995, Sintra represents the pinnacle of European Romantic architecture and garden design. The town rises from the plains into the Serra de Sintra, a mountain range with its own microclimate that creates almost perpetual mist, lending an otherworldly atmosphere to the forests and palaces. The crown jewel is Pena Palace, a flamboyant Romanticist castle painted in brilliant reds and yellows, perched atop a rocky peak with 360-degree views. But Sintra offers much more: the enigmatic Quinta da Regaleira with its mysterious Initiation Wells, the exotic Monserrate Palace with Moorish influences, the medieval Moorish Castle ruins, the ornate National Palace with its distinctive twin chimneys, and numerous quinta estates with spectacular gardens. The historic village center charms with narrow cobbled streets, traditional shops selling travesseiros pastries and queijadas cheese tarts, and restaurants in converted palaces. For cruise passengers, Sintra represents the ultimate day trip - a complete escape into romantic fantasy just 50 minutes from Lisbon by train, offering some of Europe's most breathtaking palaces and landscapes.