Tourism

Cadeia Comarcã

The District Prison, like the Town Hall building, was designed by the architect Adães Bermudes, as a result of a series of improvements made to public buildings in Sintra at the beginning of the 20th century. The decision to build a new prison was made in 1894 because the previous prison did not offer dignified conditions for the inmates. With the appearance of a medieval fortress, the building, erected on the site of the former São Sebastião cemetery, is developed from a centralized hexagonal plan. It functioned as a prison for sixty years.

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.

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.

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.

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.