HOW YOU CAN EASILY GET TO SINTRA ( AND NOT JOIN A LOCAL TOUR)
Getting to Sintra from Downtown Lisbon is easy
A one day trip to this picturesque place is really not that difficult from downtown Lisbon and this lovely, scenic town has all the historical, cultural and photography elements in there. Among the lash greens and mountains, romantic castles and the symbolic monuments, there is no way why you should not head out to Sintra if you are already in Lisbon.
Directions
1. Take the Lisbon Metro from any stations in downtown and head to Lisboa-Rossio Station. ( Some travel guides wrote as Lisboa(Rossio), some just Rossio.Whatever it is, it means the same.)
In our case, our hotel was nar Sao Sebastiao Station ( Blue line) and we dropped off at Restauradoes Station and walk 2 minutes ( underground and outdoors) to Lisboa-Rossio Station.
2. At Lisboa-Rossio station purchase tickets again for the Linha de Sintra 18811 Line ( Grey) towards Sintra. Journey takes average 44 minutes. Ask for direct tickets ( without having to transit).
3 Alight at Portelade Sintra ! And there you will be.
A typical metro platform in Lisbon
This is Lisboa-Rossio Station
This is the direct train to Sintra.
And it's pretty comfy and spacious too.
Train ticket to Sintra.
Arriving at Sintra
At Sintra take Bus 434 which can pretty much cover the 3 main sites ( click to read what they are!). Ticket: 5 Euro. Allows you to hop on and off unlimited but there are arrival timings ( below) to adhere to.
Bus Routes
Bus 434 is colored in Yellow, as per below and is where you should focus on for a one day tour. Other buses loop to other parts of Sintra, perfect if you are staying overnight ( which I really would have loved to, looking at how bustling and lively Sintra is.Yet exceptionally
scenic at every turn.)
We first alighted at Palacio Nacional de Sintra , then to Moors Castle and finally WALK to Pena Palace ( as it was fairly close to each other really and we walked alongside the road, to save time on bus waiting. Details on the attractions, click. )
Be careful of ongoing cars. It's still a gradient slope steep on some parts and might not be very suitable if you are with the elderly)
Bus Schedules
These are the time schedules of 434. Last bus leaving back to Sintra Station is 1950. But I suggest you leave earlier, just in case if you missed the very last bus.
This is a typical bus stop
This is how the mini bus looks like. Because of the narrow winding roads, the buses can't be too big.
Hopping
First stop at Palacio Nacional de Sintra was marked by 2 big chimneys. You might not know where to alight given that there is no announcement on the bus and it could be pretty crowded leaving you no way to move forward and ask the driver. Of course, this is the place many will alight, but well, not all.
Bus stop at Mouros Castle
Pena Palace's Bus Stop will be where you will wait for the bus to bring you back to the main town area.
Just walk down along the right side of the pathway from the entrance.
This niffty receipt will be the ticket when you hop on and off the bus in for this circular loop.
If you travel further and more perhaps you wanna consider the 12 Euro pass.
I have posted in details these 3 captivating attractions you have to visit in a day at Sintra, in the next blog post.
Leave me some comments!
Official website: http://www.sintra-portugal.com/index.html
Follow my instagram: @jiahuimuses for more travel tales.
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