Many travelers jump on the train from Lisbon, snap the iconic yellow and red walls of Pena Palace, and head straight back to the city. As a photographer based in Pittsburgh, I like to find the hidden, quiet beauty of a place. But on this trip, the lens wasn’t just a way to frame the landscape—it was a way to share a piece of the world with my daughter.
We didn’t want to just collect postcards; we want to experience the pulse of the places we visited. Our journey began the moment we touched down in Lisbon. Our first task was to find lockers at the airport to drop off our bags. Carrying only our camera gear, we hailed a taxi and watched the city dissolve into green mountain roads.
Fog, Gardens, and Fresh Flavors
Our taxi driver was the first to introduce us to the unique character of the region. As the car climbed higher, she explained Sintra’s famous microclimate, noting that the king who built Pena Palace actually altered the environment himself by introducing thousands of exotic plant species to the mountain. Between that lush canopy and the Atlantic winds slamming directly into the high ridges, the landscape traps an immense amount of moisture. My daughter and I watched the bright Lisbon sunshine vanish, and within minutes, we were completely enveloped in a cool, dense blanket of highland mist.
Wandering the Pena Grounds and Gardens
While the long lines of tourists waited to see the interior rooms of Pena Palace, my daughter and I bypassed the indoor crowds entirely. We spent hours simply exploring the castle grounds and gardens.
The architecture is a photographer’s dream. The palace is framed in vibrant yellows, cherry reds, and intricate blues that feel almost dreamlike against the moody sky. Built by King Ferdinand II as a masterpiece of 19th-century Romanticism, the palace is a whimsical collision of styles. As we walked the outer terraces, we enjoyed it’s rich details: dramatic Neo-Gothic towers, Moorish arches, and heavy, maritime style, stone-carved ropes and chains. The grand, dramatic stone ramparts looked as if they had been lifted from a fairy tale and dropped onto a mountain peak.
After capturing the castle from every angle, my daughter and I took a coffee break to enjoy a warm treat at the castle’s cafe, sipping hot cappuccinos and savoring sweet queijadas while watching the fog drift through the trees.
A Tuk-Tuk Ride back to Cobblestone Streets
When it was time to leave the mountain, we hopped into a tuk-tuk. It was a thrilling, wind-in-your-face ride back down toward the historic center that had us both laughing as we zipped through the curves.
Soon we were disoriented in Sintra’s famously steep, narrow, winding, labyrinth of cobblestone streets. Eventually they led us to the monumental Sintra National Palace with its iconic twin conical chimneys.
A Memorable Meal at Tulhas
As our camera batteries were running low, we made our way to a restaurant called Tulhas, a cozy, rustic spot housed in an old converted grain warehouse. We treated ourselves to an incredible, comforting meal that became the highlight of our afternoon. Our table was quickly filled with tapas: a warm, rich baked sheep cheese served alongside sweet apricot marmalade and crisp, dried bread crackers, perfectly crispy, traditional baked cod fish cakes (pastéis de bacalhau), and a chilled carafe of crisp, effervescent green wine (vinho verde) to tie it all together.
Discovering the Hidden Sintra
When we returned home, I shared some photos and stories online. While I had known that Maria, one of my former ESL coworkers, was from Portugal, I didn’t know she grew up in Sintra! When she saw my travel photos on Facebook, she shared tips for visitors to her hometown. Her local insight forms the perfect blueprint for future travelers who want to experience the fairytale countryside of the Serra de Sintra:
The Moorish Castle
Maria mentioned that while crowds pack Pena, far fewer make the trek to the Castelo dos Mouros. She absolutely loves it there and highly recommends the visit. The ancient stone walls snake dramatically across the peaks, and when the mist rolls in, the castle appears to float among the clouds.
The Convento dos Capuchos
To truly immerse yourself in the mountain, Maria recommends exploring the history of this 16th-century Franciscan monastery. Built directly into giant granite boulders and lined with local cork, it offers a deep, natural stillness. To her, it is in Mouros and Capuchos where you truly feel the mountain’s soul.
Classic Car Race
She shared a fascinating piece of local history: up until the 80s and early 90s, these twisting mountain roads hosted the legendary Rally das Camélias, where sports cars tore through the fog. The historic footage is wild to watch, and the event has recently made a thrilling return.
Must-Try Pastries
She highly recommended eating a fresh Travesseiro—a warm, flaky egg and almond cream “pillow” pastry—and suggested bringing home some traditional Queijadas, as they make the perfect souvenir to pack away for the journey home.
Leaving Room to Return
Exploring Sintra with my daughter reminded me why I fell in love with travel photography in the first place, not to capture perfection, but to witness the quiet, fleeting moments of a place completely unlike home, together. Reading through Maria’s messages after we got back only made those memories sweeter, giving us a whole new map of places to seek out next time. A German friend once told me that you should always leave something from your to-go list behind to make sure you return one day. With Maria’s secrets of the Serra waiting for us, I hope to find my way back into that Sintra mist oneway.
