Sintra

We visited the Sintra in 2007 and again in 2011. Sintra was at one time the resort for the Portuguese Kings and his Nobles. The town is center has the National Palace, which is one of best preserved medieval Royal Palace in Portugal. The old town is very small and you can walk through it in about 15 to 20 minutes, There are several notable castles, ruins and the wonderful Quinta da Regaleira nearby. The Quinta da Regaleira was actually built in between 1904 and 1910 by the Doctor Antonio Monteiro who has a particular architectural and environmental outlook. The gardens were turned into his view of the cosmos with grottos, secret passages, and stone towers and caverns. It is truly an amazing place to visit, but bring a flashlight because the passages connecting the grottos and stone towers are not lit. We stayed at the Palace of Seteais, which is a 1700 century palace. As you can see from my pictures the feel of palace living remains.