Sintra has an almost palpable charm, and the sight of castles settled high upon distant mountains when first arriving lends a hint to the city’s magic.
PHOTO DESIREE CONSTANCE CHOYIf you’ve ever watched a Harry Potter film, you probably have a pretty good idea of what an enchanted castle or magical forest looks like. While I’ve always ooh-ed and aah-ed at these scenes on the big screen, I accepted long ago that these intricate and enchanted places exist only in the fictional world. Leave it to the old city of Sintra to change that belief for good.
Located just an hour away from Lisbon, Sintra is famously known for housing the great Portuguese monarchs and wealthy families of the Romantic Era. The city has an almost palpable charm, and the sight of castles settled high upon distant mountains when first arriving lends a hint to the city’s magic.
With options ranging from walking through the Castle of the Moors to exploring the town’s vast national parks and gardens, deciding what to do in the little town is no simple feat. My traveling companion and I agreed on Pena Park, home to the famed Pena Palace, a colossal and magnificent edifice that makes visitors feel like they’re in a different time period. Inside the palace, we walked through the late King Ferdinand’s ornate room, snapping photos of the regal interior while observing the finely preserved vases and chandeliers. There’s no missing the breathless view of the land stretching for miles on the Palace’s surrounding balconies.
Though the Palace is often noted as the main attraction, Pena Park, composed of 500—yes 500—acres of forestry surrounding the palace, was the highlight of the day. Trees, bushes, and every type of of shrubbery imaginable runs through the park, and the abundance of wildlife makes you feel like there’s no one else there, despite the hundreds of other visitors exploring the park grounds. My traveling partner and I found ourselves walking along the mossy paths of Pan’s Labyrinth, then resting atop of Simba’s Pride Rock from Lion King. The overwhelming, yet comforting plethora of nature made the park truly breathe life. And though we had a map, the complexity of the park made it impossible to tell where we were. Being lost was far from alarming, as it gave us more time to wander and discover hidden parts of the park. The sun had already set by the time we found the exit, six hours later.
After a day of roaming the surreal world of Sintra, it was time to return Lisbon. On the train ride back, something had me thinking that the magic we see in movies might just have found its inspiration in the human world.
PHOTO DESIREE CONSTANCE CHOY