Travel guide: How to make the most of your time in Sintra, Portugal

One warm morning, a packed train from Lisbon, Portugal brings me to Sintra, a charming little city located in the hills of Serra de Sintra and home to palaces, fairytale castles, castle ruins, water fountains and villas that belonged to royalty and aristocracy. From the number of tourists standing in the train, it is obvious that Sintra is popular — a fact reconfirmed when it took me ten minutes to exit the station and miss the circular bus as a result.

Fortunately, I had a timed entry ticket into Pena Palace, Sintra’s star attraction, for 10:15 am, which gave me enough time to make a few stops before arriving at my destination. For this reason alone, I was glad for my taxi driver, Alfonso, an immigrant from Argentina, who, besides being a keen conversationalist also knew the spots with the best views.

It is he who told me of the celebrities living in Sintra and the significance of water fountains dotting the city.

The water fountains of Sintra

We arrived at an ancient but popular water fountain — the Sabuga Water Fountain — with its back wall capped by an ornately designed gable with a yellow sun. The water here was clearly magical, considering the number of people filling up bottles and cans. Alfonso cleared the air for me — “It is best for curing gastrointestinal issues," he said, while heading to the fountain to fill up his bottle. I followed suit. In existence since the Middle Ages, Sabuga finds a mention in literature dating back to the 14th century. What we see today dates to the 18th century, having replaced the earlier one destroyed in the 1755 earthquake.

I filled my water bottle too, as a contingency, given all the paella I wanted to eat later in the day.

Legend states anyone who drinks Sabuga's water will remember Sintra forever. I am not sure if I’d use that word today, but to be fair, I am not likely to forget Sintra in a hurry.

We drove uphill for a stop at the Biester Palace (opened recently to the public after restoration). It is said to have a historical hall with a grand library, which I was sad to miss because it was closed when we drove up to its gate. The security guard was kind enough to allow me a quick tour of its gardens.

It was soon time for Pena Palace.

Pena Palace

Alfonso bid goodbye at the entrance. Pena Palace with its brightly coloured red and yellow walls, stairways, turrets and balconies, looked like a living and breathing fairy tale castle. The exterior of the Palace had stunning stone carvings, and the entrance was guarded by the statue of [the Greek deity] Triton. The interior was spectacular with several staterooms with grand furniture. It was classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1995. Of all the palaces and castles in Sintra, it is the most famous one — and rightly so. It is not hard to see why Pena Palace inspired King Ludwig IIs German castle, Neuschwanstein, which in turn inspired Walt Disney's castle at Disneyland.

Initially built as a monastery in the 12th century, it became a royal palace in the mid 19th century and remained so until Portugal became a republic in 1905. It was renovated by successive monarchs who added their own styles. Pena Palace is the pinnacle of romanticism in Portugal and the legacy of Ferdinand II. The architecture is influenced by medieval Catholic, Islamic, and Greek mythology.

Two hours later I emerged from this surreal Palace, having experienced every kind of emotion and yet feeling as though I have missed much. Lush forests surrounded the palace but there wasn’t enough time to explore it.

Soon after, there was a bus waiting to make the return trip. I hopped on, having lost the enthusiasm to hike downhill. As the bus wound down the forested roads towards the city centre, it was easy to see why it was not only Walt Disney who succumbed to the charm of Sintra. This charming city was also a favourite spot for British Secret Agents (Bond was seen driving his Aston Martin in the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).