PORTUGAL
Sintra is a picturesque, wooded hill town,
leafy and cool in summer, mild in winter,
and privy to beautiful views year-round.
What sets it apart from any number of other
towns in Portugal is its proximity to Lisbon,
the country’s capital, just 17 miles (28 km)
to the southeast. This long made it a favored
retreat for Portugal’s kings, who from about
the 15th century began a series of lavish
palaces and gardens here that dazzle with
their extravagant and often wildly exotic
architecture.DON’T MISS
The Palácio Nacional da Pena is a fantastical caprice,
a royal palace built mostly in the 19th century that
reworks Portugal’s Gothic, Renaissance, Islamic, and
other styles into one of the great architectural pas-
tiches of the Romantic era.The Palácio Nacional da Pena, one of several historic
palaces and castles in the hills around Sintrasintra
77 CITIES & BEYOND