Regal Portugal weaves a spell

With flamboyant palaces piercing through its lushly wooded setting, Sintra is a beautiful and popular side trip for tourists staying in Lisbon. Being honest, I’d say it’s too popular for much of the year, with coach-loads of visitors bussed in, not to mention those who arrive by train and car.

The problem is the ease of getting here. Back in the Middle Ages, when Sintra first became a country retreat for Portuguese royals and aristocrats, it would take more than a day to traverse the mountainous tracks from Lisbon by horse-drawn carriage. Now, however you travel, it’s normally under an hour.

But there are times when you can enjoy this UNESCO World Heritage site relatively crowd-free. We’re talking roughly between November and April (with weekdays outside the European school holidays your best bet).

We’re here on our Collette tour at the tail end of January, the middle of the Portuguese winter, which can be sunny and can be wet, but is usually reasonably mild regardless. We’ve struck it lucky this week, with daytime temperatures averaging 20C.

The light and the hues are especially radiant around Sintra, where the forests have largely retained their evergreen shade and nicely complement the yellows, pinks, reds and blues painting the town’s buildings.

There’s a compact historic core with steep cobbled alleys rising past gift stores, bakeries, bars and cafes, including one named after the poet Lord Byron, one of the many famous characters left spellbound by Sintra. “A glorious Eden” was how he described it after visiting in the early 19th century, staying at Lawrence’s Hotel, which is still here, established by an Englishman in 1764 and touted as Portugal’s oldest, still-functioning hotel. People are enjoying drinks on its front terrace when I pass by today.

Sintra is perhaps most renowned, however, for its palaces. There are so many in and around town that you even see information boards containing maps of the “Sintra palace trail”. The most swashbuckling one, high up a hill, built over the ruins of a former monastery, is the Pena Palace, whose candy-shaded exterior and opulent interiors I still recall from a trip almost 20 years ago. I remember a shuttle bus ferrying me up there and me traipsing back down afterwards.

In the town centre today I see a sign, with the symbol of a hiker, suggesting it would take 45 minutes to reach that palace. Another sign points up to the Moorish castle — or what remains of it. That lofty landmark was taken from the occupying Muslim residents by Christian armies in the 12th century.

We have free time to roam around Sintra, but our excursion includes a tour of the National Palace. This whitewashed pile sits right in the heart of Sintra and stands out with its twin chimneys, which rise from the kitchens where many a banquet was rustled up.

As we leisurely peruse the palace chambers, which we have pretty much all to ourselves, our guide Mika explains the history and evolution of this building over more than 500 years. She tells tales about its notable residents, including Portuguese kings, queens, princes and princesses who would spend summers here. Architectural styles spanning several centuries fashion the spaces. Some look suitably medieval or Victorian, others Manueline, a Gothic-Renaissance fusion named after the early 16th-century Portuguese king Manuel I.

We see where the royals slept, bickered, schemed, feasted, entertained and prayed. Scattered about are tapestries, paintings, ceramic vases, gorgeously carved wooden wardrobes, chandeliers and ceiling murals.

Also here are some of the most extraordinarily rich displays of azulejos in a country (formerly a monarchy, now a republic) that seems to have millions of buildings clad in these decorative glazed tiles. There are geometric Islamic-style tiles in a palace courtyard that reminds me of Morocco, and also in the chapel that was constructed over a Moorish mosque. It also has depictions of white doves symbolising the Holy Spirit.

Birds are singing in the palace garden, where I linger after this tour, admiring the topiary, the fountains and gazing over the town and the surrounding verdant countryside. It’s warm and ever so tranquil. I feel fortunate that I’ve been able to see and savour Sintra in such pleasant conditions.

Steve McKenna was a guest of Collette. They have not influenced or seen this story.

fact file + Sintra is an optional excursion on Collette’s 15-day small-group Flavours of Portugal & Spain tour, which is available throughout the year, starting with three nights in Lisbon and finishing in San Sebastian, visiting cities along the way plus the Douro Valley and Rioja wine regions. It’s priced from $6299 per person. Optional excursions from $99. gocollette.com/en-AU + For more information on visiting Lisbon and Portugal, see visitlisboa.com and visitportugal.com