National Palace of Sintra

The Palácio Nacional de Sintra in Portugal is a fascinating historical site that perfectly showcases the country’s royal heritage. Located in the heart of Sintra, the palace is famous for its distinctive twin chimneys, elegant courtyards, and beautifully preserved interiors, featuring intricate tile work, period furniture, and ornate decorations. Its architecture reflects a blend of Gothic, Manueline, and Moorish influences, offering visitors a rich cultural experience. The palace’s central location makes it easily accessible, and its exhibits provide valuable insights into the lives of Portuguese royalty. Overall, the Palácio Nacional de Sintra is a must-visit destination, combining history, architecture, and artistry in a captivating and memorable setting.

Amazing place and a must go! We went on a rainy day and it was still magical! You have to hike up a cobblestone walkway to get to the castle, but I believe there are options to get a ride.

We took the CP train from Lisbon to Sintra, which took about 40 minutes. If you’re not planning to do much walking or hiking, I recommend getting the Train + Bus combo ticket (€14). You can buy it from the ticket machine at train stations, but you’ll also need a Navegante Occasional Card (€0.50), so the total comes to €14.50. Make sure you TAKE THE RECEIPT and KEEP IT SAFELY throughout your trip. The Sintra bus drivers check the receipt, not the card, and they will ask for it every time you board. Bus route 434 stops at the National Palace of Sintra (second stop, online website call it “Sintra Villa”). Be aware that the leaflet given by the bus staff was outdated during our visit, as the route has recently changed. It’s best to CHECK THE LATEST ROUTE ON OFFICIAL WEBSITE. From the bus stop, it’s about a 5‑minute walk to the Palace. We spent around an hour exploring, and it was a lovely visit. Interestingly, the rooms in the National Palace of Sintra are much larger than those in Pena Palace — easy to mix them up, so don’t confuse the two. I highly recommend purchasing your tickets in advance to avoid queues.

It's beautiful and well-preserved. Bought tickets in advance and waited and lined up for the time of entry stated in the ticket. If you're not fit or have mobility issues, it would be best to purchase another ticket for the shuttle that will bring you up to the palace from the entrance. The walk uphill can be tiring as it is quite steep.

We were in Lisbon for 6 days before boarding our NCL cruise ship. One tour we took was to visit the national palace of Sinatra. Drive up was long but really nice views. The village is very pleasant and the palace is really interesting, especially on the inside. On the outside, the twin chimneys are very picturesque. Inside, there are many rooms to tour. The guides clearly explain each room. The pictures tell the story.

We decided to walk to the palace to see it up close and enjoy the views. We went as far as we could without waiting in line to go inside. We felt the view and walk was worth the price of the ticket. €9 for seniors. While many people bought the double ticket we were ok doing the outside trip. The traffic the las several kM was crazy in mid Obtober. Near the entrance gate there is a shuttle bus for anyone who wants to avoid a steep walk.Bathrooms at gate and gift shop.

Very interesting place! But in our case it was incredibly crowded... But its a cool place too visit! Lots of different types of architecture. It will take 1,5-2 hours normally, but if its very crowded then 2-3 hours. The walk is quite steep, take that into account, to have a decent endurance.

The palace was impressive. The collection was substantial. It's nice to go back to history not thru books but by actual visit and encounter.

Sintra is where the royals went to rough it in their vacation castle. The Sintra Palace, complete with those two giant inverted ice cream cones on top, is basically a royal Airbnb with views to die for and tiles for days. Their of the medieval town is adorable. This is a popular day trip from Lisbon. There are several castles and palaces to explore. Views for days.

This is such an underrated spot in Sintra. Folks come here for the bigger castles, and honestly, we would've skipped this too if it weren't for the big storm that had come through a few days earlier and closed the larger castles down. Palacio Nacional de Sintra is full of rich history. It was so fun to see the way people used to do things hundreds of years ago -- where they slept, how they entertained, etc. The grounds were beautiful and each room had a distinct theme and vibe, but for me the coolest part were the giant chimneys in the kitchen. Back in the day, it would signal that the king and his court were home when they were really going. If you have time, I would stop in and see the sights. There are guided tour options, but there were plenty of written notes throughout to explain what you were seeing so that you really didn't need it. A cool experience for sure.

Beautiful museum. We didn't go inside since we were short on time but we explored the stunning outside gardens.

Nothing here totally blew us away, but it was a very interesting and informative tour. I may be wrong, but I think there are a better castles and palaces to see in Sintra. On the other hand, you won't go wrong by touring here.

This was also a cool experience, not as amazing as the Pena Palace which is about 15min away, but very informative. Lots of history, my son also enjoyed the history lesson. We were able to take great pictures overlooking Sintra, which is about 40min away from Lisbon. I mean these views are phenomenal. Great tour if ever in Portugal.

Amazing history and gardens. Get there early because it gets crowded later in the day and you don't want to be rushed or miss anything.

This was our first stop in Sintra. A gorgeous coastal palace once inhabited by many kings and queens of Portugal. The first written documentation of the palace was in 1281. Now that's an old house! We only toured the outside grounds, which I imagined were lush with flowers and plants when used as a functioning home. The terrace offered a lovely view of the coast line. The architecture was pleasing to the eye and I loved the pool with the lion. We learned this region was only inhabited with huge stones and no trees. King Ferdinand II restored the area's forests, planting thousands of trees, most of which were brought in from all over the United States. Now that's a cool fact! I suggest stopping by and checking it out. Old and royal is a good combination!

4.5 overall. We two visited in late Aug 2023. Exceeded expectations, and easily walkable from the train station. We did not purchase our tickets in advance, and waited about 5 minutes in the ticket line before purchasing our tickets. Good audioguide that we purchased at the ticket office and downloaded to our mobile phones via QR code. We spent over two hours visiting the many interesting rooms that depicted the history and lifestyles of Portuguese royalty, and especially enjoyed viewing the vast kitchen with its two huge chimneys.

We paid our admission and enjoyed exploring the palace of Sintra which was built in various periods. It consists of rooms in chambers where the kings and queens received visitors, courtyards and terraces where the privileged enjoyed their leisure and the stewards and clerks managed the property. Until the 18th century this was a business center of economic and legal administration of the area. Taxes were kept, contracts signed and the natural resources of the landscape of Sintra were protected. The palace was a social space where kings & queensintermingled with nobility and foreign ambassadors. We spent €10 and spent hours wondering up & down through steps and gardens exploring the ornate palace with spectacular Portuguese tiles throughout. There was a small group of women trying to navigate the first floor difficultly in electric wheelchairs. We tried to get into the cafeteria for a cold drink but it was locked. There were two restrooms & we never found the gift shop.

The 15th century summer residence of the Portuguese royalty is a must-see in Sintra. About a 40 minute drive west of Lisbon. Easy day trip. This UNESCO heritage site contains one of the largest tile collections in Portugal. Amazing! Beautiful! This palace is post-Moorish period, per our tour guide. However, the geometric designs on the tile give it a Moorish look somehow. There were also interesting paintings of biblical figures. One unusual painting stands out - the Virgin Mary breastfeeding baby Jesus. I didn't have time to wander in the gardens. I would definitely visit this palace over the colorful Pena Palace which is also in Sintra. This one appears to be the one with an authentic and gives a positive aura of that time in Portuguese history. My tour company selected this site for us to visit, so I'm unaware of the cost and process of buying tickets. I was blown away at the artistic flair of this palace.

My wife and I were here on a Gate1 tour, Optional Tour to Sintra. We were coming from Lisbon just for a tour before returning. We toured the Sintra Royal Palace (Palácio Nacional de Sintra), aka Town Palace, a 15th century royal residence and now a museum. It contains one of the largest tile collections in Portugal. Gads, there were tiles in every room, on every wall! It is the best-preserved medieval royal residence in Portugal, being inhabited more or less continuously from at least the early 15th century to the late 19th century. It is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. There was also a Royal Garden, but to be honest, most of us could do much better than this, given the time and money.

Nearly two hours of self-directed exploration touring the Palácio Nacional de Sintra. Masks required indoors and the tour is in one direction through the palace to minimize direct contact with other patrons. The palace is not very handicapped accessible but the lower levels can be explored with minimal steps. QR codes and an app make it easy to understand what's what as you walk the palace. Much of the palace dates from the times of John I who was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Castile and why Portugal remains independent from Spain to this day. King Manuel ordered the construction of the so-called Ala Manuelina to the right of the main façade, decorated with typical manueline windows. He also built the Coats-of-Arms Room which is amazing. The palace did suffer some damage following the 1755 earthquake but it was restored using original techniques to look as it did in the time. As Portugal moved into a republic in the early 1900's, it was no longer the living quarters for the monarchy and converted into the national monument we see today. The palace has many great Instagram-worthy photographs and is well worth your time. [Review 16661 overall - 172 in Portugal - 173 of 2022.]

Palácio de Pena gets a lot of the hype in Sintra (deservedly so) but honestly, I liked the Palácio Nacional better. First, there are WAY less people! You won't be dodging irritating Instagrammers trying to get that perfect shot or blocking traffic for a selfie. The rooms are much bigger (again, less crowding) and are wonderfully decorated. The ceilings in many rooms are incredible. Since this palace is earlier and used by many different royals there is a lot of history to learn and see here. Finally, the kitchens are really something to see! The chimneys are just as impressive inside as they are to see from the outside. Sintra is blessed with a wealth of must-see attractions - I'd highly recommend making time for this one.

Beautiful town with historic National Palace dating back to the 14th century. The 16th & 17th decorations are spectacular, especially the Arabic hall. Enjoy a snack and wine in town.

Honestly skipped it because it was 20 euros each to get in just for this one castle, never mind that each castle has its own entrance fee. My bad I didn't do my homework. Add that to an entrance fee for each of the other castles as well as a $13.50 euro hop on and off bus pass, and this got a hard pass from me. We rode the bus for a couple of hours to see what we could take pictures of and to get our money's worth (I was under the impression that the fee should have been more in the 3 to 4 euro range) on the 434 bus and since the 435 did not appear to be running that day (we waited far too long for a bus that didn't show up) we didn't get to see four out of six castles, and we figured that we could go back and spend 40 euros on beautiful food and wine, and that's what we did.

At Sintra area there is a lot of palaces to visit. This one call city or town palace. This palace probably build at 15th to early 16th century. It is UNESCO heritage site. If you come to Sintra, I would recommend three palace combo ticket. This palace, Pena Palace and Monserrate Palace. It is very much the time you going to have in one day to visit during their opening hours. Unless you planning longer stay. This palace call the Town Palace because was build in side the town. The visit take 1.5 hours by your own. It has a lot of room to explore. The room is furnished. They have the pagoda room, Sala dos Brasoes room, kitchen and more. It is like a maze. Great place to play hide and seek. Some room has good ceilings decorative painting or finished. The visit will require some climbing. There are some up and down without automatic escalator or elevator.

After a long day of visiting the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace, I arrived at the National Palace of Sintra. It's located in town, which makes it easily accessible. The outside looks really cool. However, there isn't much that's interesting on the inside. The ceilings have interesting looking swans. You get to walk through the rooms and see all of the furniture. You definitely get to see more of the interior than at Pena Palace. However, I'm not particularly into that sort of thing. There were a couple of guided tour groups present during my visit. One of the groups was so large that they wouldn't make room for others to pass through. I recommend skipping the National Palace of Sintra.

This is an interesting palace. We almost skipped it and I'm so glad we didn't. The ceilings alone are a reason to go. You'll see a regal swan ceiling, and a magpie ceiling, and an incredibly decorated ceiling in the room of the blazons- I think it was called. It's the room tiled in blue with royal scenes. Apparently the king's family are all represented in the tiled pictures. Just wonderful. We also loved the courtyards and the grotto. I believe the original furniture was lost but bit by bit new items are being brought in. The kitchens alone, with their enormous chimneys, are reason enough to go. It's a truly interesting and beautiful place. It doesn't have the crazy charm of Pena palace but it has it's own charms

This was a summer residence not the actual full residence of the royal family, so some of the decor, furniture and art may not be meeting some expectations when you say "palace" however it is a beautiful building. Initially this was a holy place were the monks lived many, many centuries ago. In the 1800s a German decided to purchase it and upgrade it. Somehow when I saw the place it reminded me of the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, some of the architecture was similar. It is located in the most romantic city in Portugal so a must visit.

Very beautiful palace in Sintra. This is the national palace. If you get the ticket package, the package includes the admission for this place. It is located on the route of the hop on hop off bus, or you can take a tuk tuk or a taxi. The interior is very grand, however much of the decor has been removed from the heydays. The structure is still completely in tact and exterior beautifully restored and maintained. Must visit if you are in Sintra.

Good place to start your Sintra Trip: If you have limited time in Sintra, this is a good option as it is in the heart of town where many excursion buses release you for lunch and a walk about before continuing to Pena Palace. Wear comfortable shoes of course because it's steep terrain on cobblestone streets. The Palace boasts wonderful views across the countryside and back towards the town. We did not opt for a tour but simply enjoyed about an hour to walk thru. It's odd that the rooms are not furnished according to their original purpose but the architecture is interesting.

If you're visiting Lisbon, make sure you carve some time out to visit Sintra. This nearby city is known for its majestic palaces, with the Palacio Nacional de Sintra being one of them. We stopped by on a Friday and there was no wait. The palace is beautiful from the outside but you can spend a lot of time inside exploring all of the rooms, decor, and the views of Sintra. They even have a cafe with free WiFi if you want to take a break from the action and relax a bit.

It was probably unfair that we saw this site last. Compared to the other palaces and castles this one was unspectacular. The ceilings were very pretty but the rest of the palace was mostly empty. I felt like some of the items on display such as paintings and furniture seemed to be haphazardly placed. The gardens were also small and had less interesting plants than the other gardens. If you're short on time I think this is the site to skip. It is conveniently located right in the center of the historical town center and the ticket may be purchased at a discount when combined with other tickets.

Glad we made the stop to see! The outside doesn't justify going in but the inside was really nice. The themed rooms are fun to see, the ornate and large furniture is great, and the kitchen is so massive! Recommended if you have the time!

The Palácio National de Sintra is full of history. The palace is well preserved and it is displayed in an easy way to gather the history of the area. The double kitchen with the double chimneys is the most unique feature. It is only because the Regalaria and the Pena Palace are so interesting that I give this a 4. If there had to be a choice of which Sintra site to miss- this would be it.

I have been to Sintra 3 times...and this is one of those places that I had on my list of things to do....but never did. Well I'll be...I finally did it! It was a gloomy rainy day that brought us here....and very happy with what we saw. This is on the smaller size of what we expected, but what wonderful tile work, paintings, and amazing ceilings you could possibly see! I was thrilled to see so many artifacts left in the house, and happy to be able to take pictures! Not a MUST see...but worth it if you have the time!

This palace is located in the middle of everything. The outside of the palace is the most interesting part in my opinion. I would save your money, enjoy the outside of it, and go to another one of the palaces in the area.

Beautiful. Well worth paying a visit. You can walk from the station to the town centre, around 15 minutes, where it is located. The walk is a very nice walk too, with lovely views and sellers selling their wares along the route, and also you can see various art objects placed along the path too.

The National Palace is one of those places you should visit, but doesn't mean its one of the best sites in Sintra. You can easily get here from the train station by taking one of the sighseeing bus, but we took the 434 bus (to the right of the station) costing 5€ per person and allows you to hop on and off along the loop all day. It was especially useful because this entire town is made of hills and mountains. At the Palace you can buy a combined ticket to a couple attractions, which seemed work it for us. Walking in, there's displays of how they lived in the 15th century. The best areas were the ornate ceilings in some of the grand halls, and the room with ceramic tiles. We didn't spend more than one hour here, maybe less and then took a short walk up to Quinta Da Regaleira (10 mins)

Very nice place in the hills outside Lisbon. Especially nice day trip in the summer, if you need to escape the heat of the city. Short hike leads to a beautiful, colorful palace. We got there so late, we didn't bother with purchasing tickets to go inside the palace - but the hike and walking around the outside of the building were fantastic. If we come back, we'll need to get an earlier start and hit not just the palace, but also some of the longer trails.

We were here around 1:00 on a Thursday; no line and no crowds. The exterior is identifiable by the large cone shaped chimneys. The interiors are furnished with original items and it has a palatial feel. There are some amazing tiles and stone carving. It was nice and cool inside. Relaxing.

Another lovely palace in Sintra. This is the palace in the middle of town as opposed to the Pena Palace. Both are stunning in their own ways. The National Palace has much more to see (in my opinion) inside, whereas Pena is very much about the external architecture. The detail inside the National Palace is stunning, the paintings on the ceilings are incredible and some of the rooms, like the stag room, will literally take your breath away. The view of Sintra town from the windows is quite spectacular also! Not to be missed!

I absolutely loved Sintra, only spent one day but will be going back next year! Stunning mediaeval architecture, the was a festival on while I was there, live music and street markets, lovely friendly people and great weather.