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Free booking and cancellationFree payment tour, no set price, booking and cancellation are free
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Hi! I'm Francisco :) I´m a local guide, born and raised in sintra. I know sintra many years before the turism started, before 1996, it was my playground and a place for locals. I heard many legends about mysticism, secrets and sintra stories, told by local elders. Later I joined a group in sintra and deepened my historical knowledge and the Portuguese spiritual tradition linked to the Templars and knights of order of christ. The passion for history comes from my father, a history teacher and a monarch. Now, I'm responsible for sharing my passion and knowledge in a immersing guided view of Sintra, Quinta-da-Regaleira, and Pena Palace and the keeper of the first door to sintra history culture and spirituality. "Only on the pilgrim's path will you discover a world hidden in plain sight"
The mist of time hides many stories of the old Sintra). This captivating tour will guide you through a history of romanticism, medieval ideals, and mysticism.
We will begin at the exquisite town hall, with its achiteture of manuelism style. Facing the Sintra mountains. (Mons lunae). With the Moorish castle looking down on us, we will share stories about the origins of portuguese monarquia, the templars movement in Portugal. After knowing the story behind the Sintra’s mouthwatering pastries, (Queijada, Travesseiro e pasteis cruz alta), we set off to explore and understand why Sintra is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On this tour we will visit the São Martinho church (knigths templar church) The Sintra National Palace and its relation to the Discovery portuguese navy age, the Sintra castle always lurking, and the luxurious Sintra forests always around us. Many consider Sintra one of the most beautiful places in the world. Its palaces and castles and many other chateaux and mansions in Sintra are part of the Romantic Movement of the XIX Century which transformed this charming medieval town into a romantic capital and the spiritual capital of Port-Graal or Portugal...
Cafe Saudade, Black Umbrella
This is one of the most popular leisure spots in Sintra, largely due to the monumental complex and the green landscape that can be glimpsed from its walls: the Raposa Valley, Vila Velha with its houses and the National Palace of Sintra and the ocean on the horizon. At the top, the Castelo dos Mouros. Very close to the Historic Center of Sintra, in this viewpoint easily accessible from the Sintra train station, you can sit down to rest and admire the breathtaking view.
The city hall palace as a lot of the historical signature of the portuguese neomanuelin style and rainessance period, with the cruz of the portuguese knigth templars. this is where this journey of descovery starts...
In the center of the village of Sintra, marking the landscape with the unmistakable silhouette of the two conical chimneys that crown the royal kitchen, stands the only palace that has crossed the entire history of Portugal.
Built in 1922 with a project by Master José da Fonseca, the Moorish fountain was built to enhance the town entrance and to “dignify the most appreciated water of Sintra”. The widening of the road in 1960 forced the dismantling of the fountain; it was rebuilt 20 years later, not in its initial location, but rather in the middle of Volta do Duche.
The Parish Church of São Martinho de Sintra is a secular ecclesiastical administrative circumscription, founded in 1147-1154, by King D. Afonso Henriques, following the Christian territorial reconquest to the Islamic military domain, receiving statutes in 1283 and approved in 1306, confining, until the century XIX. Home of the 6º Grand Master of the order o the knigths templar, Gualdim Pais.
Located in the heart of Sintra, the Biester Palace opened to the public in 2022, after restoration works. The various areas of the palace and the park offer a privileged view of the Castelo dos Mouros, while a few minutes from the lower entrance you can find the mystical Quinta da Regaleira. More than a historical monument, the Biester Palace is a mysterious adventure in a fascinating and (still) little explored cultural labyrinth.
Italian architect Luigi Manini, transforms the 4-hectare farm into a palace surrounded by lush gardens, lakes, caves and enigmatic buildings, places that hide alchemical meanings, such as those evoked by Freemasonry, Templars and Rosicrucians. It models the space in mixed layouts, which evoke Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Manueline architecture.
Of neoclassical architecture, it is part of the set of palaces renovated by the bourgeoisie. The entrance stands out, with triangular gables, sash windows and a two-armed staircase that extends inwards towards the secondary façade. One can also see the adaptation of the palace to the irregular terrain, which has a framework with the Palace of Pena.
Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end of the tour the amount that he or she considers appropriate (these usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).
