Historic Cities · Portugal

Sintra through the ages

Sintra, officially the Town of Sintra, is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of 319.23 square kilometres (123.26 sq mi). Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populated municipalities of Portugal.

1854 · romantic palace hills

Sintra in 1854

Romantic Sintra

Sintra in 1854 is at the height of its Romantic reinvention: Ferdinand II's Arabian-tinged Pena Palace crowns the ridge while restored Moorish battlements and the old National Palace define the town below. The walk moves between painted ramparts, camellia-filled quintas and mist-softened terraces, encountering ox carts, donkey guides and the town's market life under the shadow of white chimneys and Atlantic haze.

The town's silhouette is a collage of painted ramparts, polychrome domes and crenellated stone against a green, fern‑fringed Serra. Whitewashed houses and tile fronts cluster in narrow streets beneath the National Palace's twin chimneys; higher, the Moorish Castle's stone battlements run along the ridge. Gardens and quintas interleave with laurel and eucalyptus, camellias and tree ferns, terraces opening to a cool, Atlantic-lit mist that softens distance and colour.

The route: 16 streets, squares and views

View from Colares Plain → Praia das Maçãs Outlook → Rua da Ferraria → Praça da Vila → National Palace Exterior → Calçada dos Clérigos → Calçada da Trindade → Town Market → Palácio de Seteais Terrace → Road to Pena → …

Step inside, 10 interiors

Tile-fronted Tavern · Swan Room · Magpie Room · Town Market Hall · Seteais Salon · Arab Room · Royal Chapel · Cistern Chamber · Friars' Cell · Camellia Conservatory

Explore Sintra in 1854 →26 scenes · 390 Clan Coins

Planned from the Wikipedia record: Sintra.

In this city