Tourism

Casa do Teatro de Sintra

This performance venue is located in the former Tivoli cinema, a notable example of early 20th-century architecture that gained traction with the arrival of the train in Sintra. The building was used as a warehouse and carpentry workshop and was later restored and converted to house the creation and presentation of theater shows.

Paço dos Ribafria

The Palace was built in the 1530s near the royal palace by Gaspar Gonçalves, a man of humble origins who amassed a considerable fortune and achieved ennoblement. The Ribafria family held the important position of chief magistrate of Sintra for several generations, and the palace remained in the family until the 18th century, later passing into the possession of the Marquis of Pombal. During this period, new elements were introduced into the 16th-century structure, especially on the exterior, such as sash windows. Since that time, no significant alterations have been made to its structure.

MU.SA – Museu das Artes de Sintra / Casino

Initially built to house a casino, the building was conceived by the Sintra Tourism Society, which aimed to equip the town with socio-cultural and leisure infrastructure. The project, designed by architect Norte Júnior and financed by Adriano Júlio Coelho, resulted in a very imposing building. Its period of glory as a casino occurred between 1924 and 1937. Since it never held a gambling license, the main activities promoted were art exhibitions, concerts, parties, and shows. Today it is owned by the City Council, which has transformed it into a cultural space, the MU.SA - Sintra Museum of Arts.

Mercado Estefânia

Once a bullring (with references to a major bullfight in July 1893), this is now the location of the Estefânia Municipal Market. As part of the surrounding rural area, Sintra supplied the capital with fruits and vegetables sold in markets, fairs, or even on the streets of Lisbon. Sometimes city dwellers would go to Sintra to get supplies at the Mercês and São Pedro fairs, and other times the farmers would take them to the city. Besides strawberries, wild fruits, pink peaches, brown pears, and Reineta apples were also a delight for connoisseurs. The Reineta Apple still remains in the region of orchards spread throughout the municipality, with a greater concentration in Fontanelas. The orchards of Colares were famous, which gave the name to Praia das Maçãs (Apple Beach), reportedly because the river that flowed there passed between the orchards and carried the fallen apples in its waters to the beach. Currently, there is also a food court in this space, offering visitors a more attractive experience.

Municipal Library of Sintra – Casa Mantero

A public library operating according to the latest trends in library science.It is located in Correnteza, on a property dating back to the 19th century and acquired by the local government in very poor condition in the 1970s.From the house’s balcony, you can enjoy magnificent views of the Castelo dos Mouros and Vale da Raposa.

Fonte da Câmara

The Town Hall Fountain, designed by architect Vasco Regaleira, presents a contemporary design that, amidst the predominant revivalism of the historic center, was considered dissonant by many. Simple, devoid of formalism and decoration, it features a large circular basin, lined on the inside with blue mosaics, which receives water from a double spout. Contrasting with its simple delicacy, it is surrounded by a rough U-shaped stone wall with protruding vases. The coat of arms of Sintra is juxtaposed on one of the continuous walls.

Museu de História Natural

Located in a building constructed in 1893, the museum has a permanent exhibition open to the public, which originated with collectors Miguel Barbosa and his wife, Fernanda Barbosa, who, over the course of nearly 50 years, amassed a unique collection comprising thousands of fossils of incalculable cultural and scientific value.

Edifício dos correios/ Torre do Relógio

The current post office building served as the Town Hall and County Jail. From the outset, it housed a public clock that kept time for the town, an unusual feature for a small rural settlement living in the shadow of the royal palace. The structure we know today was probably built in the second half of the 18th century, on the initiative of the Marquis of Pombal, inspired by the church towers of the rest of the municipality of Sintra. If a tower had existed in an earlier period, it would certainly have been severely damaged in the 1755 earthquake.

Casa Piriquita – Travesseiros e Queijadas de Sintra

Casa Piriquita is a pastry shop known for its Travesseiros and Queijadas. Founded as a bakery in 1862, it acquired the name Piriquita due to the nickname King D. Carlos gave to its owner, Constância Gomes, based on her short stature. It was the monarch who encouraged the couple to make the famous queijadas; the success was immediate, and the bakery transformed into a pastry shop. In the 1940s, Constância Luísa Cunha, the founder’s daughter, created the Travesseiro, a pastry filled with egg custard and with an almond touch. Throughout these 160 years, the pastry shop has remained in the family, who proudly guard the secret of their sweets.   Accessibility: Partially accessible to people with reduced/conditioned mobility, only at the takeaway counter (no adapted restrooms)

Largo do Palácio/ Serra

In front of the Town Hall building stands a fountain, in the same Neo-Manueline style, designed by architect Tertuliano Lacerda Marques and sculpted by José da Fonseca. Inaugurated in 1914, it rests on a plinth that supports the carved basin from which, in the center, a large shaft with vegetal lacework and a bronze spout representing a fish emerges. At the top, the fountain is crowned by the Cross of Christ, which surmounts the armillary sphere surrounded by four shields, where the municipal coat of arms alternates with a pelican bearing the legend "Pola Lei e Pola Grei" engraved in Gothic characters.

Celeiro da Jugada

In Largo Latino Coelho, we see some remains of the old Celeiro da Jugada, where the tribute paid in grain to the crown was paid and stored. It was also here that the sacred art removed from the churches of Sintra after the abolition of religious orders in 1834 was sold.

Igreja da Misericórdia (Church of Mercy)

The exact date of the founding of Sintra’s first charitable institution is unknown, but it is suggested that it dates back to the 14th century.However, there is no doubt about the establishment of the Hospital de Santo Espírito—predating the founding of the Misericórdia—which dates back to the reign of King Ferdinand, as does the construction of the first church.The church dedicated to Mariana is currently reduced to only its chancel and side altars, as the nave and other outbuildings were demolished with the establishment of the Republic to widen the public thoroughfare.

Igreja de S. Martinho

The Church of São Martinho in Sintra was commissioned by Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, between 1147 and 1154, following the Christian reconquest. The building, initially Romanesque, underwent alterations during various reigns, acquiring some Gothic features. In 1755, following the Lisbon earthquake, the church collapsed and was rebuilt between 1755 and 1773. The reconstruction, entrusted to the architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira, resulted in a building with an austere façade featuring a narthex, in the Pombaline style. The temple has an interior decorated with murals and an important set of panels representing the Passion of Christ. Also noteworthy are the 16th-century works representing St. Peter and St. Martin, attributed to the masters Cristóvão de Figueiredo, Gregório Lopes, and Garcia Fernandes. In one of the wings attached to the temple, we can find a remarkable collection of sacred art pieces, organized in a small museum space.

Centro Cultural Olga de Cadaval / Cine-Teatro Carlos Manuel

The Carlos Manuel Cinema-Theatre was designed by the architect Norte Júnior in 1945. It was a late modernist building, fitting the typology of the so-called Italian-style theatre, with evident sobriety in its façade. For 40 years it was the most emblematic space in Sintra’s daily cultural life. In 1985, a large part of the cinema-theatre was destroyed by a fire, and two years later it was acquired by the municipality, which renovated it. Since 2001, this representative building has housed the Olga Cadaval Cultural Centre, named in honor of the great patronage contribution of Olga Pereira de Melo, Marchioness of Cadaval.

Estação de Sintra

Until 1887, the only public transport to Sintra was the slow stagecoach that departed from the capital. The railway connection between Lisbon and Sintra was only inaugurated on April 2nd of that year. With the end of the Second World War, an investment program in rail transport began, seeking to reduce dependence on steam traction. The Sintra line was integrated into this plan, and electrification officially arrived on April 28, 1956, as part of the centenary celebrations of the railways in Portugal.  

Centro histórico