For those of you who enjoy my travel notes, then this account of one of my excursions in Portugal will hit the spot. You likely have heard of the French and Italian Rivieras? There may be some among my readers who have visited these popular destinations, but did you know there is also a Portuguese Riviera?
It’s how the tourism industry refers to the affluent coastal region found less than an hour west of Lisbon, where grand estates and palaces were built by Portuguese nobles and royalty in the scenic mountain range and the reason it is such a popular sightseeing destination. The appeal of taking a day trip outside of Lisbon appealed to me and off I went to tour the area with my private guide Rui and one of my ship mates, Vicky, who joined me for the excursion.
With a population of over 345,000, Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated municipalities of Portugal. A major tourist destination made popular because of its picturesqueness, the municipality has several historic palaces, castles, scenic beaches, parks and gardens. We travelled to the Sintra Mountains to visit the beautiful towns of Sintra, Cascais and Cabo da Roca.
The region is internationally known as a luxury destination because of its history being a playground for European royalty as well as the rich and famous of the 18th and 19th century. Now, it is dotted with lovely cafes , bakeries and weekend accommodations and the occasional protest from residents who feel their town is overtaken by tourists in the summer period. Back in the day, the period of enlightenment in Europe, better known as la “belle epoch” resulted in numerous villas, gardens, estates, and palaces uniquely shaped by romanticism, exceptional architecture and artistic creations and is the reason Sintra earned a UNESCO World Heritage designation.
Our tour took us to the Moorish Castle, a spectacular fortress built atop one of the highest peak in the mountain range. It was founded in the 10th century during the period the Moors occupied the Iberian Peninsula. We drove around the giant granite walls, snaking across the hills, and marvelling at the work required to stack boulders and blocks to stand still to this day 1,000 years later.
The Pena Palace stands on the top of another peak in the mountains above the town of Sintra, and on a clear day we are told it can be seen from Lisbon. Previously a monastery left in ruins after the 1755 earthquake, it became the summer home of the royal family after King consort Fedinand II acquired it and all of the surrounding lands and transformed it into the Palace that it is today. It is now a national monument and considered one of the major expressions of 19th century romanticism in the world and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.
The current National Palace of Sintra emerges out of the centre of Sintra, defining its landscape with the unmistakeable silhouette formed by two conical chimneys crowning the royal kitchen. It is a strange assortment of structures, shaped by different styles and influenced by the artistic trends over the years reflected today in the various architectural styles over the course of centuries. We opted not to visit the palace, on that busy day, and instead continued our visit of surrounding towns and landmarks.
Nevertheless, it stands as the only palace that spans the entire history of Portugal although the actual age of the country’s oldest palace remains unresolved. It is likely that the first building would have been constructed in around the 10th or 11th century when Sintra was under Moorish rule. Practically every king and queen of Portugal spent some time in residence at the National Palace of Sintra for varying lengths of time, leaving behind their own respective marks and memories of their lives.
Leaving the mountains, we arrived on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, the most western point of Europe, and the small coastal city of Cascais. It originates from the 1870s, when the King Luis 1 and the royal family made the seaside town their summer residence, thus attracting members of Portugal’s aristocracy who established a summer community there.
We took lunch at an enchanting seaside restaurant overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, watching local surfers ride the waves below us, as we savoured octopus salad, vinho verde, and spectacular skewers of giant shrimp, octopus and beef.
Fun Fact
During WWII and the post-war period, the area’s royal affiliations intensified, as many heads of European royal houses and deposed monarchs, including King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, King Juan Carlos I of Spain and King Umberto II of Italy all made their home in Cascais and surroundings, finding refuge in Portugal’s neutrality in the war or from tense political situations in their own countries.
Today Sintra is one of Portugal’s most expensive and exclusive real estate markets and similarly known for its high standards of living, consistently ranking as one of the best places to live in Portugal. I would definetely return to Sintra and hopefully spend a few days to take in the uniqueness of the Portuguese Riviera.
