Sintra Self Guided Walking Tour
- 2.5–3 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 7 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Sintra isn't a natural fairy tale, it's a staged one. Kings and millionaires spent centuries turning this misty mountain into a romantic landscape of palaces, follies and gardens, and this self-guided walk traces that climb from the valley town to the peak. Everything runs from your smartphone: no app to download, no group, no physical guide. Each of the nine stops has a short audio story, an interactive quiz and a map with directions to the next one, so you start when you like and walk at your own pace. The route begins among the neoclassical palaces above town, drops into the medieval old town, then climbs the Serra to the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace. Most stops are free and best seen from outside, exactly where the tour takes you; a few charge their own admission if you want to go in. This ticket is your audio guide and route, not the entrance tickets. - Nine stops, from Palacio de Seteais to Pena - Audio story and quiz at every landmark - Roughly 4 km and 2.5 hours
Inclusions
What's included
- Interactive map and navigation
- Self-guided walking tour accessible on your smartphone, no app required
- Audio guide and quizzes for points of interest along the route
- 500 MB complimentary eSIM mobile data via Ninja WiFi
What's not
- A physical guide (the tour is accessible on your smartphone)
Itinerary
A late-18th-century neoclassical palace, its two wings joined by a triumphal arch added for the Marquis of Marialva. Today it houses a hotel, and its terrace looks out over the Sintra hills toward the coast.
A romantic estate laid out around 1900 for Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, with a Neo-Manueline palace, chapel and richly symbolic gardens. Its best-known feature is the Initiation Well, a spiral staircase that descends underground.
The royal palace at the heart of the old town, instantly recognisable by the two huge conical chimneys rising from its kitchens. It served as a residence of Portuguese monarchs from the Middle Ages until the late 19th century.
Sintra's town hall, completed in the early 20th century in Neo-Manueline style and topped by a tall spire. It stands at the junction between the railway district of Estefania and the historic centre.
A public drinking fountain from 1922, built in Neo-Moorish style with horseshoe arches and blue-and-white tilework. It is one of several ornamental fountains added around Sintra in the early 20th century.
A Gothic parish church founded in the 13th century, in the quieter eastern part of the old town. Its plain stone facade and pointed portal contrast with Sintra's later romantic architecture.
A romantic-revival villa designed by Luigi Manini in the 1890s for the businessman Victor Carlos Sassetti. A winding garden path through its grounds links the town below with the Moorish Castle and Pena above.
A hilltop fortress built by the Moors and later restored in the 19th century under King Ferdinand II. Its walls follow the ridge above the town, with views over Sintra and out toward the Atlantic.
A 19th-century Romanticist palace commissioned by King Ferdinand II on the site of a former monastery, known for its bright yellow and red facades. It crowns the highest point of the Serra de Sintra and is surrounded by its own landscaped park.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Start your self-guided tour at the entrance of Palacio de Seteais on Rua Barbosa du Bocage. Open your Ciceru experience nearby and follow the route on your smartphone.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Ciceru
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
How it compares in Sintra
- Its from-price is 95% below the median of the 418 experiences we list in Sintra.
- It is shorter than most of them.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Sintra
Sintra is a hill town west of Lisbon, wrapped in misty forest and crowned by a Moorish castle, a colourful Romantic palace and mysterious gardens.
Sintra is a UNESCO-listed cultural landscape on the Serra de Sintra, a granite ridge that catches Atlantic mist and keeps the hills green and cool. Portuguese kings and nobles built summer palaces here. The Pena Palace, a painted fantasy of yellow and red towers, sits on the highest hill, while the Moorish Castle's walls climb the ridge nearby, and the old centre has the Sintra National Palace, recognisable by its two conical chimneys.
Top-ranked sights in Sintra: Quinta da Regaleira, Convent of the Capuchos.
Special offers in Sintra
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
20% offFree cancellation
25% offFree cancellation
