Sintra one day itinerary: on foot in town, bus 434 to Pena
This Sintra one day itinerary does the morning on foot and the afternoon on the hill. You start with a pastry at Casa Piriquita, see the National Palace of Sintra in the old town, walk out to Quinta da Regaleira and its gardens, and have lunch on the way back toward the station. Then bus 434 takes you up the hill to Pena Palace. Two big ticketed visits and one short palace visit fill a day, with the bus ride in between.
I built the day in Passage AI for a Thursday in November, with a stop time for each place and walk minutes between them. Hours, prices and ticket rules come from the official sites of Parques de Sintra and Quinta da Regaleira, linked again at each stop.
Last checked: Nov 2026. Prices and hours change. Open the linked official page before you go.
Getting to Sintra from Lisbon
Trains on the CP Sintra line run from Rossio, Oriente and Entrecampos stations in Lisbon to Sintra. Parques de Sintra's how to get there page puts the walk from Sintra station to the National Palace at 10 to 15 minutes. Pena and the Moorish Castle are closed to private cars, so the official advice is public transport or the marked trails.
That's why this plan splits the day. Everything before lunch is a walk in town. For Pena, take Scotturb's bus 434. It's a circular route: from Sintra station it stops at São Pedro de Sintra and in the old town (Sintra Vila), then climbs to the Moorish Castle and Pena. Scotturb sells a 24-hour hop-on hop-off ticket for lines 434 and 435 on its official ticket site, which says buses run every 10 minutes. Check the current fare there before you go.
Sintra in one day at a glance
| # | Stop | Time | Getting to the next stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casa Piriquita (pastry) | 8:45 | about 1 min walk |
| 2 | National Palace of Sintra | 9:30 | about 6 min walk |
| 3 | Quinta da Regaleira | 11:00 | about 10 min walk |
| 4 | INcomum by Luís Santos (lunch) | 1:00 PM | bus 434 |
| 5 | Park and National Palace of Pena | 3:00 PM |
Walk times are straight-line estimates between stops; tap Directions and your phone's maps app opens with the street route. Sintra's old town is hilly, so the street route climbs.
Pick any day the sites are open. This plan uses a Thursday because INcomum is closed on Wednesdays. Quinta da Regaleira closes on 1 January and on 24, 25 and 31 December.
Stop by stop
1. Casa Piriquita, 8:45
Casa Piriquita started as a bakery in 1862. The house says King Carlos I gave the founder, Constância Gomes, the nickname "Piriquita" and encouraged the couple to make queijadas, the small Sintra cheese tarts. The travesseiro, a puff pastry filled with egg and almond cream, came in the 1940s from the founder's granddaughter, and the family still keeps the recipe. The Piriquita I shop opens at 8:30 every day, until 19:00 on weekdays and 19:30 at weekends and on holidays. (official site)
There's nothing to book, and the palace is about a minute's walk away.
2. National Palace of Sintra, 9:30
The palace in the middle of town, with the two conical chimneys over the royal kitchen. Parques de Sintra calls it the oldest palace in Portugal: the first building probably went up in the 10th or 11th century, under Moorish rule, and later kings and queens kept coming back for the cool summers and the hunting. (official page)
It opens at 9:30 and closes at 18:30, with last ticket and last admission at 17:30. The ticket office closes from 12:00 to 13:00, and ticket machines stay open. The Essential Visit costs €13 for adults, €10 for ages 6 to 17 and over 65, and nothing under 6. (opening times and prices)
Be at the door at opening and give it about an hour. Regaleira is about 6 minutes' walk on, so you reach it well before an 11:00 slot.
3. Quinta da Regaleira, 11:00
A late-1800s estate on the edge of the historic centre, built for António Augusto de Carvalho Monteiro (1848 to 1920) with the Italian architect and set designer Luigi Manini. The house, chapel and gardens mix Manueline, Renaissance, medieval and classical styles, and the gardens are full of towers, caves and underground passages, with the Initiatic Well among them. (official page)
From October to December it opens at 10:00, last entry is 17:30 and it closes at 18:30. The palace and chapel close 30 minutes before the garden. Entry is by timed slot, every half hour from 10:00 to 17:00, and you can arrive up to an hour after the time on your ticket. Adults pay €20 (prices valid from January 2026), ages 6 to 17 and over 65 pay €15, and a family ticket for two adults and two youths is €60. (official visit page)
Buy only at regaleira.byblueticket.pt. The estate says this is its only authorised online ticket office, tickets are valid only for the date and time on them, and you can reschedule up to 48 hours before. Give it about two hours.
4. Lunch at INcomum by Luís Santos, 1:00 PM
INcomum is a restaurant at Rua Dr. Alfredo da Costa 22, about 10 minutes' walk from Regaleira, on the way back toward the station and the bus. It opens 12:00 to 24:00 every day except Wednesday, when it's closed. It takes table bookings by phone or email, listed on its official site.
5. Park and National Palace of Pena, 3:00 PM
The red and yellow palace on the hilltop above town. Parques de Sintra describes it as the high point of Romanticism in Portugal and the legacy of King Ferdinand II, the "King-Artist". The park around it is a wooded maze of paths, often in the mist that sits on the Sintra Hills. (official page)
Take bus 434 up after lunch. Tickets for the palace come only for a set date and time, and you enter the palace at that scheduled time. Book the Essential Visit (€20 for adults, €18 for ages 6 to 17 and over 65) on the official ticket shop and pick a slot around 15:00. The park alone costs €12.
The park is open 9:00 to 19:00, with last ticket and admission at 18:00. The palace is open 9:30 to 18:30, last ticket 17:30, last admission 18:00. Inside the park, the Pena Shuttle runs every 15 minutes between the park entrance and the palace (last ride up 18:15). A return transfer costs €4.50. November afternoons are short, so see the palace terraces first and walk the park paths while it's still light.
Afterwards, bus 434 carries on around its loop and back down to the station for the train to Lisbon.
When you reach a stop, Passage AI's Guide opens a card like this one with the story of the place. Tap Listen to have it read aloud while you climb to the terraces.
What to book ahead for a Sintra day trip
Need tickets? scans the whole day and marks the stops worth booking ahead, with a link to each official site. It flagged four of the five:
| Stop | App said | Official site says (Nov 2026) | My call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park and National Palace of Pena | Likely | Palace tickets for a set date and time, €20 Essential | Book ahead |
| Quinta da Regaleira | Likely | Timed slots, €20, official ticket office online | Book ahead |
| National Palace of Sintra | Maybe | €13 Essential, ticket machines on site | Book if your date is fixed |
| INcomum by Luís Santos | Maybe | Takes table bookings by phone or email; closed Wednesdays | Book lunch |
Piriquita came up as walk-in friendly, and its site lists no booking. The two timed tickets set the shape of the day: pick the Regaleira slot first, then a Pena slot that leaves time for lunch and the bus.
What to skip or swap
- Want the Moorish Castle? Bus 434 stops there on its way up to Pena. It's open 9:30 to 18:00 with last admission at 17:30, and adults pay €12. (official prices) Take it in place of the National Palace if you'd rather have walls and views than painted rooms, and visit it before Pena so you aren't racing the 17:30 last entry.
- Short on money? The Pena park ticket (€12) gets you the gardens and the views of the palace from outside, against €20 for the Essential Visit inside.
- Want to walk up instead of taking the bus? Parques de Sintra lists marked trails, including the Santa Maria Trail (1,770 m, about an hour) from the Info Parques de Sintra point in São Pedro de Sintra. (how to get there) It's a real climb, so allow extra time before your Pena slot.
- Check the notices. Parques de Sintra posts closures and room restrictions on its notices page. When I checked in November 2026, none applied to the sites on this route.
FAQ
Can you see Sintra in one day?
You can see the main sights of Sintra in one day if you pick two big visits and book them ahead. This plan does Quinta da Regaleira and Pena, with a short visit to the National Palace in town. Adding the Moorish Castle and Monserrate as well makes for a rushed day.
Can you walk from Sintra town to Pena Palace?
Yes, on the marked trails, and it's uphill all the way. The Santa Maria Trail is 1,770 m and Parques de Sintra puts it at about an hour from São Pedro de Sintra. Private cars can't drive up to Pena, so the other option is bus 434.
Do you need to book Pena Palace in advance?
Palace tickets are sold for a specific date and time, and you enter at your slot, so booking ahead is the safe choice. Buy on the official Parques de Sintra ticket shop. The park-only ticket covers the gardens without the palace interior.
How much does a Sintra day cost in entry fees?
For one adult on this plan: €13 for the National Palace, €20 for Quinta da Regaleira and €20 for the Pena Essential Visit, so €53 before bus fares, food and the optional €4.50 Pena Shuttle. Prices checked on the official sites in November 2026.
Is Quinta da Regaleira worth it if I only have one day?
It's the easiest big sight to reach on foot from the old town, and it fills the late morning before the bus up to Pena. Book a timed slot on the official ticket site. You can arrive up to an hour after your slot time.
How this was made: planned in Passage AI on 7 November 2026, facts checked against the official sites of Parques de Sintra, Quinta da Regaleira, Scotturb's sintra434.com, Casa Piriquita and INcomum by Luís Santos, written by Edward.
Cover photo: Diego Delso on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
