09:00 — Pena Palace before the buses
Be at the gates of the Park and National Palace of Pena for opening. The 19th-century palace — a Romanticist explosion of red and yellow towers, domes and battlements on the highest ridge — is the reason everyone comes, and the first hour is the only quiet one. Afterward, wander the vast surrounding park down to its lakes and the High Cross viewpoint.
12:30 — The Moorish Castle walls
A short walk from Pena, the Castelo dos Mouros is a ruined 8th–9th-century fortification whose ramparts snake along the ridgeline like a miniature Great Wall. On a clear day the views run from the palace to the Atlantic.
14:00 — Lunch and travesseiros
Descend to the historic center for lunch, then join the line at Piriquita, the town's famous pastry house, for a warm travesseiro — Sintra's signature puff-pastry 'pillow' filled with almond cream — and a queijada, the older cheese-and-cinnamon tart. Both are non-negotiable.
16:00 — Quinta da Regaleira and the Initiation Well
Save the strangest for late afternoon, when day-trippers start draining away. The Quinta da Regaleira is a neo-Manueline mansion set in gardens riddled with symbolism — grottoes, hidden tunnels and the famous Initiation Well, a spiral staircase corkscrewing nine levels into the earth. Closing hour here, in low golden light, is pure atmosphere.
20:00 — Dinner in the old town
Evening Sintra is a different town — cool, quiet, lamplit. Eat unhurried Portuguese classics and sleep early; tomorrow starts west.
