Sintra is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Portugal (Image: Getty)
For the past few months, my social media feed has been bustling with amazing, colorful photos of Sintra, and many tourists have called it the “magic fairytale town” of Europe. Therefore, while planning a visit to Portugal, it was easy to have to be devoted to see what all the fuss was.
Located just 18 miles from Lisbon's capital, Sintra is listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. After two days in Lisbon, we took an early morning train to Sintra and arrived in the famous town in just under 40 minutes. The small railway station was bustling with tourists, so it's easy to appreciate everyone's excitement. The town's 24-hour bus pass costs around £11 (13.50 euros), allowing for unlimited travel on all buses in the city. Not bad, I thought to myself.
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Too many tuk tuk drivers can be seen around town (Image: Getty)
And the first destination on my list was the famous Yellow Pena Palace. Pena Palace is on the uphill slope of town, so you will need to take a bus or taxi to get there.
I used the 24-hour bus pass and stood in a line outside the station. Even during the off-peak season, I was amused by the number of tourists gathered in this town.
The bus was full and people had to literally wait a few minutes. The 50-minute long journey to Pena Palace was filled with lush woods. There was a scenic beauty of the hill, a small house soaked in Portuguese architecture.
All of this made me even more excited and I couldn't wait to explore more.
The historic centre of Sintra was extremely crowded (Image: Getty)
However, the scene outside the palace was very confusing and a bit confusing. The thin uphill road to the gate was quickly reached out to you by tuk tuks, taxis and many local tour guides to see if service was needed.
Entrance to the palace was very confusing. As soon as I got off the bus I automatically joined the line to get my ticket to the palace. Apart from that, however, there were two separate lanes entitled “with ticket” and “no ticket”, which made the process even more complicated.
The “no ticket” queue will also be taken to a counter where you are asked to purchase tickets to the palace or gardens.
The palace, which looked “dreamy” in the photo, looked like an aged architecture. So, without wasting too much time, we decided to head straight to the historic centre of the town and grab something to eat.
Sintra's historic center is very famous for its charming cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, and a blend of medieval, gothic and romantic architecture.
There was a long line outside the Pena Palace (Image: Getty)
The area is lined with traditional Portuguese cafes, souvenir shops and pastry bakeries serving Trave Seiros and Cajjada. However, due to bad weather and the tourist reservoir, the whole experience was pampered.
There was little space to walk along the narrow streets and everything seemed very expensive. We managed to find a small place to chew, and only Margherita pizza was on sale for 15 euros (about 12 pounds). The food was priced very strangely, given that everyone claims that Portugal is a relatively inexpensive European country.
After putting together the meal, I left little energy to explore more Sintra. The town was exhausting and disappointed me, leaving me absolutely to see it being offered. The 434 bus was uncomfortably packed and there was no room to travel.
As soon as I returned from my trip, my first instinct was to check out some reviews from other tourists to see if I was the only person who “famed in love” with Sintra. And it seems I'm not alone. Many tourists like me who went to town with truly high hopes left a disaster.
One of them called it “overrated” on the TripAdvisor Forum. Sintra is the most overrated place in the country! A foggy, rainy, or cold place is definitely not worth a visit. A waste of time. ”
Another wrote: A waste of time. Driving there was a scary thing and I was finding a parking spot.
“The palace is very overwhelming and very badly held. The city centre would be cute if it wasn't crowded with tourists, expensive food and souvenirs, which are the same in all Portuguese towns. I'll go to Ebola instead. There are far fewer tourists and more authentic.”
The third one writes: As soon as you get off the Lisbon train, you are attacked by a tuk tuk driver and company, and the gardens that go to the palace on foot (13 euros to get to the palace, 5 people to get off) are not said to be the only element to detour.
“The palace is dirty, the paintings are very damaged and there is no need for an inside visit. A 10-euro garden ticket is sufficient to see the palace's essentials (an otherwise 10 euros or more irreducible furniture) (access to the inner courtyard and chapel). The village is dilapidated like a castle.”
