Sintra is one of the popular tourist destinations in Portugal (Image: Getty)
For the last several months, my social media feed has been buzzing with amazing, colourful pictures of Sintra, with many tourists calling it a “magical fairytale town” in Europe. So, while planning a visit to Portugal, it was a no-brainer that a day needed to be dedicated to see what all the fuss was about.
Located just around 18 miles from the capital city of Lisbon, Sintra is listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. After spending two days in Lisbon, we caught an early morning train to Sintra and arrived in the renowned town in just under 40 minutes. You could easily gauge the excitement among everyone as the tiny train station was bustling with tourists. A 24-hour bus pass in the town costs around £11 (€13.50) and allows unlimited travel on all buses in the city. Not bad, I thought to myself.
Too many Tuk-Tuk drivers can be seen around the town (Image: Getty)
And the first stop on my list was the famous yellow-coloured Pena Palace. Pena Palace is located in the uphills of the town, so you either need to take a bus or a taxi to get there.
We took a 24-hour bus pass and stood in the queue outside the train station. Even in an off-peak season, I was amused by the number of tourists that had flocked to this town.
The buses were running full, and people had to literally wait for several minutes before another transport service arrived. The entire 50-minute-long journey to Pena Palace was full of lush green forest, little houses immersed in Portuguese architecture, and the scenic beauty of the hills.
All of this got me more excited, and I couldn’t wait to explore more.
Don’t miss… [REVEAL] [SPOTLIGHT]
The historic centre of Sintra was extremely crowded (Image: Getty)
But the scenes outside the Palace were extremely chaotic and a bit confusing as well. The thin uphill road to the gates was jam-packed with Tuk-Tuk, cabs, and many local tour guides quickly reaching out to you to see if you need any of the services.
The entry to the palace was extremely confusing. As soon as we got down from the bus, we automatically joined a queue that was to get a ticket to the palace. However, apart from that, there were two separate lanes titled ‘With Tickets’ and ‘Without tickets’, which made the process more complicated.
The queue ‘Without ticket’ also takes you to the counter where you will be asked to purchase a ticket to either the palace or to the gardens.
The palace that looked ‘like a dream’ in the pictures looked more like dilapidated architecture. So, without wasting much time, we quickly decided to head to the Historic Centre of the town to grab something to eat.
The Historic Centre of Sintra is pretty famous for its charming cobblestone streets, colourful buildings, and a blend of medieval, Gothic, and Romantic architecture.
There was a long queue outside the Pena palace (Image: Getty)
The area is lined with traditional Portuguese cafés, souvenir shops, and pastry bakeries serving travesseiros and queijadas. However, the entire experience was spoiled due to the bad weather and hoards of tourists.
There was hardly any space to walk in the narrow streets, and everything seemed to be super expensive. We managed to find a small place to grab a bite, and just a Margherita Pizza was priced at 15 euros (around £12). Considering everyone claims that Portugal is a relatively cheaper European country, the food was very oddly priced.
After wrapping up the meal, I was left with hardly any energy to explore more of Sintra. The town had left me tired, disappointed, and absolutely with no hunger to see more it offers. The 434 bus was uncomfortably packed, with no space to move at all.
As soon as I returned from the trip, my first instinct was to check some reviews from other tourists to see if I was the only one who “did not fall in love” with Sintra. And it seems I am not alone. Many tourists who went to the town with really high hopes like me were left disasappointed.
One of them called it “overrated” on the TripAdvisor forum: “You have to go there by bus, and it is not a place you can eat something because all attractions are hidden a long way in the mountains! Sintra is the most overrated place in the country! A foggy, rainy, cold place is absolutely not worth visiting. Waste of time.”
Another wrote: “We went to Sintra because it was really hyped up in our guidebook. Total waste of time. Driving there was horrible, and so was finding a place to park.
“The palace is very underwhelming and very badly kept. The city center would be cute if it wasn’t overcrowded with tourists, overpriced food, and souvenirs that are the same in every Portuguese town. Go to Evora instead; much less touristy and more authentic.”
A third one wrote: “Very disappointed. As soon as we got off the Lisbon train, we were attacked by tuk tuk drivers and company to get to the palace (13 euros to get on the bus and 5 to get off) but it is not said that the gardens to get to the palace on foot are the only elements worth the detour.
“The palace is dirty, the painting very damaged and the visit from the inside unnecessary. To see the essentials of the palace (otherwise the irreducible furniture for 10 euros more), garden tickets at 10 euros are sufficient (access inner courtyard and chapel). The village is dilapidated, like the castle.”