SINTRA If you’re in Lisbon, an essential day trip is out to UNESCO World Heritage-listed town of Sintra, the former royal sanctuary set amid forested mountains, which contain the Sintra National Palace (Portuguese: Palácio Nacional de Sintra) in the historic town centre, the Castle of the Moors (Portuguese: Castelo dos Mouros), and the Pena Palace (Portuguese: Palácio da Pena). There is plenty to do in Sintra, such as visit the museum in the Palace or shop at the stores in the historic village centre. It is certainly worth walking through the village and up the path towards the Castle of the Moors. As the name suggests, the castle was built by the Moors in the 8th Century, and was ultimately one of the places that they surrendered when the Christians retook the country in the 1100s. For a few centuries thereafter the castle was inhabited by a small number of caretakers and its chapel was a place of worship for Christians and later Jews, before it was abandoned. It will take half an hour, and you will venture alongside the castle walls, passing through lush green forest that will make you feel like you have returned to medieval times. The castle itself has a café and visitor information centre where you can learn more about its history. And you can walk along the walls and admire the sweeping view across the Portuguese countryside. At this point, the Pena Palace comes into view above – its colours stand out brightly against the blue sky. So the walk continues further up the mountain until you get to the gates of the palace grounds. At this point, you must pay for entrance to the grounds, and you can get a lift up the hill to the palace on a golf cart, or continue walking, while admiring the landscaped gardens. The former King of Portugal, Ferdinand II in 1854, built the Pena Palace at the same time as renovating the dilapidated castle (to the horror of current archaeologists). To be honest, I found the castle - built in the Romanesque Revival style - and its pastels a bit gaudy and the palace certainly doesn’t have the class of many others found throughout Europe, but it is still a sight to behold. There are plenty of excellent photo opportunities on the walk around the Palace’s exterior. I’m still confused about the clock tower though; it seems a bit excessive considering the small number of people that could read it at any time. The palace is not the end of your journey today though. For a truly spectacular and sprawling, almost 360-degree view from Lisbon along the Targus and across the Atlantic (and also another great view of the Pena Palace), continue walking through the estate’s pine gardens to the summit of the hill, which is marked by a concrete and steel cross. Later that day, I met my friend up on the lookout at Bairro Alto and watched the city once again as the sun set – this time looking at the castle, rather than from it – and realised that Lisbon was one of my favourite places. DESTINATION 17