Portugal's Sleeping Beauty's Castle
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If you´d like to visit Disneyland gone dark, you certainly need to visit Sintra. This World Heritage site helds some of the most incredible castles I've ever seen.
There´s plenty to do in this town (which by the way, is only an hour away from Lisboa, on the train): exquisite palaces to visit, extravagant residences and decorative gardens to admire and astonishing beaches to relax at about 20 minutes away.
The sights are spread across the hills of the region, and there are a series of challenging hiking trails, so if you are not very sporty, hold your breath.
As you get into town, you reach the historic centre, where pretty cobbled streets meet with traditional shops and cafes, all centred around the Gothic styled National Palace.
If I had limited time and I could only visit one sight though, that would be Quinta da Regaleira. I feel this stately home is slightly underrated as you have to walk for a long while but it is certainly worth it. The gardens are filled with mystic symbolism and hidden features which include secret tunnels, Gothic towers and stone fortified walls. I mean, hello?
To finish our day, we took the bus like the locals and ended up at a tiny village by the sea. Little we know there were local festivities and we would end up dancing samba with the Portuguese...SO MUCH FUN, that´s all I will say.
Stay tuned,
TCB xx
