May 2011: One of the many highlights of our trip to Portugal was the few days we’ve just spent exploring magical Sintra. Its spectacular setting, 28km from Lisbon, houses a Royal Palace, used by generations of Portuguese royalty prior to the 1910 revolution. The surrounding hills are surmounted by the remains of the Moorish Castle and by the nineteenth-century Pena Palace. Historic Sintra and the mountains and surrounding area have been classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site both for their cultural significance and for it’s outstanding natural beauty.
