Hi all, and happy (?) Tuesday to you all! Last week I posted on my day trip to Sintra, from Lisbon. Sintra is a brilliant destination, probably worth a couple of days at least of your time, but well, time seems to be something I seldom have. You can read that post here – The Full Lowdown – Day Trip to Sintra from Lisbon – Castles and Mountains
Sadly, I wasn’t able to take photos in Pena Palace, but I did take a few inside the Palacio Nacional de Sintra, so I thought I would feature those today. The palace dates back to 12th century or before, although it is unclear what was on the site at the time. From there the palace has been built, renovated and added to over the centuries. There is a strong Moorish/Islamic influence to the palace, although there are many other influences over the ages including gothic. Enjoy!
Outside the Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Hall – Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Chimney stacks – Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Staircase – Palacio Nacional de Sintra
You start off with a curiously shaped palace from the outside, the two large chimneys being what your eye is drawn too. From the entrance you are faced with a hall, through a door a curving staircase. It doesn’t take long to realise that the inside is far more interesting than the outside!
Salas dos Brasoes 
Salas dos Brasoes 
Roof of Salas dos Braseos 
Ceiling – Salas dos Basoes
The Salas dos Basoes is probably the most impressive room in all of the palace. It has an amazing ceiling, as many are made with wood but this is a domed ceiling. The room is also big on azuelos, these amazing blue tiles that I believe hail from Portugal as an art form.
Wall rug – Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Wooden roof – Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Sitting Room Palacio Nacional Sintra 
Chapel – Palacio Nacional de Sintra
Elsewhere in the palace there are so many rooms to explore, with more amazing ceiling art, wall coverings and despite the Islamic influence, a chapel!
Kitchen – Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Grand Bedroom – Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Fire place – Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Bedroom – Palacio Nacional de Sintra 
Amazing chandelier
Finally we found the kitchen over which the chimneys pump the heat out. Some of the bedrooms are also on display, and there is more tile work to admire. Some of the chandeliers and lighting efforts are pretty impressive too! There are also gardens out the back – not featured in my photos.
All in all, the Palacio Nacional de Sintra, in Sintra Town itself, is the perfect start to a tour of the region. It’s not as grand as Pena, or as colourful, and the location isn’t quite as ‘fairytale’, but it’s a really interesting and well displayed palace to be sure. Plus, it doesn’t suffer the ridiculous crowds of Pena!
I hope you enjoyed today’s photos. Take care as always, wherever you are, and May the Journey Never End!
Andy's World Journeys 
Andy, we missed out on visiting the Palacio National de Sintra when we were there. It looks like it definitely worth a visit. Just to let you know, I am reading this post on my ipad and some of your writing is covered by your photos, not sure if it something I am doing wrong or others are experiencing the same?
Gilda thanks for the heads up. Could you check it again on the tablet, I had AMP turned off and so I’d like to know now I’ve turned it back on if it helps. Thanks!
Andy, on my ipad your photos are still obstructing your writing. But on my phone I can see the whole post without any problems. My iPad is quite old though, so maybe it is ok for others with a more modern one. Take care😄
thanks for letting me know. Is this on all posts?