Sintra National Palace: Guide to Visiting the Exotic Royal Palace

A miniature 3-D factual replica of Sintra National Palace. I found it in one of the rooms of this museum.

Video and Images of Sintra National Palace

Watch my short video from my visit to see why I thought Sintra National Palace was such an exciting museum!

WHAT YOU WILL SEE IN THIS MUSEUM

When you visit Sintra National Museum, also called Palácio de Vila (The Town Palace), you will see many exotic rooms and courtyards, with colorful and unique tiles on the walls and floors and stylish furniture. It is in fact a large complex of separate palaces, built during different centuries. Some rooms are from the Middle Ages, some are more modern.

Each room of Sintra Royal Palace is exquisitely decorated in an architectural style of the time it was built, so you will see a mixture of Gothic, Manueline, Moorish, Mudéjar and Baroque styles. All rooms are connected by halls, pretty courtyards with cute old fountains, and stairs.

So, basically, this museum is a few palaces together and a fun maze. You pay for one, but get to see a few museums, what a deal! :)

This was a very exciting place for me and an architecture lover. If you are into architecture, I believe you will really appreciate this museum as well.

There is a lot to cover on the subject, because each room is a marvel of its own and there are many of them, so this required a separate post.

Here, I want to show some highlights of the museums so you know what you will be seeing there. 

This is one section of the museum's courtyard. I found these Baroque tiles on the walls to be very unusual and interesting. 

Here is a video with these highlights of the the best features of this Sintra Royal Museum I was talking about above, or you can read their coverage in the sections below.

Look at this beautiful stucco and tiles door frame!  I couldn't stop admiring it and other doors in the palace.

BEAUTIFUL Unusual stucco door frames

How about this beauty in Mudejar style, with a combination of a typical pointed Gothic doorway and Moorish tiles?

I don't think I've see a door like this anywhere in the world, beside this. It's rather low, though, you have to bend a bit to get through this door. Probably even more so, if you're tall!:)

The most intriguing feature of the kitchen is the 33 feet tall chimneys, that were unmatched in middle ages (or ever!)

Nowadays these two tall cone-shaped white chimneys are icons of Sintra National Palace. To read more about the advanced kitchens of the National palace in Sintra and why the chimneys were so huge, read my other review post. 

This is how this chimney looks from inside. It's huge and nothing like I've ever seen! 

Sintra National Palace Chimneys

BEAUTIFUL chandeliers in each room

Pretty furniture is not the only fine decorations in Palacio Nacional de Sintra. Each room has an unique pretty chandelier I loved checking out. This is a picture of one of them.

So, these were just some of the highlights of this museum. As I've mentioned already, there are few different palaces together and that creates many rooms in National Palace in Sintra Museum.

I hope I got you curious about what you'll see in the museum to want to learn more.  Read my other comprehensive post on architecture and rooms of National Palace of Sintra to learn about all the rooms in details, and who were they done by.

Here, I just want to list them for your future visit on my architecture of Sintra National Palace post:

• The Royal Chapel

• Ala Joanina (or John's Wing)

• Exotic kitchens with Giant chimneys

• The Swan room

• The Magpie Room

• The Golden Chamber

• The Coats-of-Arms Room (Sala dos Brasões)

• Arab Room (Sala dos Árabes)

• The Grotto of the Baths

Now, let's see everything you need to know for visiting the museum. 

This is one of the most dramatic room in the palace, The Coats-Of-The-Arms room. Prepare to gasp when you enter!

Where Is Sintra National Palace Located?

Sintra Palace is located right in the town center, a short 10 minutes walk from Sintra train station.

Should you drive to Sintra or take a train?

Arriving by the train or bus is by far your best bet as finding parking anywhere in Sintra is impossible. It will create you unnecessary stress and it will take away from your enjoyment for sure!

Buy an unlimited Lisbon public transport 24 hours pass to get a free train or bus ticket. Alternatively, use Navegante zapping for a discounted ride, or Lisboa card for a free ride.

Read about the best ways of getting around Portugal in my other post.

It only takes 20 minutes to ride by car, but do not come on a car because of parking problems! Renting a car is especially not wise if you're traveling solo. Read more on why choose public transport over renting a car here.

Here are more details on how to get around Sintra without a car.

Attractions Near by

There are also attractions around Sintra area further away:

Cabo da Roca. Cabo da Roca is the farthest point west in mainland Portugal, mainland Europe, and the Eurasian landmass. It has a lighthouse that sits 165 meters above the Atlantic Ocean.

Macas beach (Praia das Maçãs). You can get there either buy a bus (# 441) or take the historic railway line that connects Sintra town to the sea. The train is located nearby Vila Alda in Estefânia.

Queluz Palace, another 18th-century palace located in Queluz, Portugal, renowned for its Rococo architecture.

National Coach Museum of carriages, an unusual experience around old horse-drawn carriages. It's located in Belem, Portugal, next to Lisbon.

I hope my post was helpful to plan your visit to the remarkable Sintra National Palace!

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