Less than an hour by train west of Lisbon is the small town of Sintra, which served as the summer retreat for the Portuguese royal family for centuries. The town and surrounding mountains are full of magical palaces, Moorish architecture and ruins. You can spend days exploring the town and its surroundings. The Palacio Nacional de Sintra, easily identified by its towering twin white chimneys, has been built over the centuries, while on a mountain above the town, the mystical Palacio da Pena looms. This palace is the finest existing example of Portuguese Romantic Architecture with Moorish and Gothic elements.
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