Our last time in Sintra, which was in 2019, we had visited the colourful and whimsical Pena Palace. This time we opted for the Quinta da Regaleira. First advice: don’t even think about driving with your camper to any site in Sintra. Better park at the train station and take an Uber or a bus. Second advice: don’t come at the peak time in the middle of the day.
After the queue at the entrance, (as we arrived at the peak time) there was another very, very long queue for the famous Initiation Well which we actually wanted to see. We gave up and visited the rest of the park and the palace instead.
The Quinta da Regaleira was acquired in 1892 by Carvalho Monteiro, a Brazilian-Portuguese businessman, collector, bibliophile, entomologist and Freemason. With the assistance of the Italian architect Luigi Manini, he recreated the 4-hectare estate as a bewildering place full of symbols that reflect his interests and ideologies.
After our explorations in the park and the visit to the palace, we called an Uber and drove back to the train station. We left Sintra and drove past Lisbon to Setúbal, where we want to visit the dolphins – more next!