SShprints

We arrive in Lisbon at 4pm on Dec 28 and leave at 6am on Jan 2. On Dec 29 we have a full day city intro tour with We Hate Tourism Tours. This leaves Dec 30,31 and Jan 1. I imagine that Jan 1 we will be a blur after a night of celebrating/partying on NYE...plus everything would be closed that day.
I would love to visit Sintra but afraid that it leaves very little time for exploring Lisbon? Do we forego Sintra (sadly) and just spend Dec 30/31 exploring Lisbon, or do we spend the day in Sintra on Dec 30 leaving us Dec 31/Jan 1 for Lisbon exploration?

thursdaysd

If the weather is good you might go to Sintra, don't bother otherwise, and you might only need half a day. But don't skip Belem.

Adzas

Try a half day trip to Sintra, at least to see the Palace, supposed to be beautiful! I drove up there once but was my first time in the area so got a bit lost. I still want to go there to see the palace, pictures I have seen are amazing.

SShprints

the problem with half-days is that its winter..and even if we get there at 10am or so, we still wont be back to Lisbon until 3 the earliest, leaving only 2hrs of daylight.

thursdaysd

You don't need daylight for museums.

SShprints

I guess the best plan is to just play it by ear..wait and see, if the weather is nice and we feel like getting out, we can certainly hop on a train early morning and spend a few hours in Sintra before going back..but doesnt make sense to do a pre-planned full day tour.

michelhuebeli

I've just come back from 9 days staying in Belém and concur with thursdaysd - don't skip Belém.

There is the Palacio Nacional Belém (the presidence's residence, open for the public only on Saturdays), the botanical gardens (more an arboretum) next to it, the Museu do Coches (royal coaches - an awesome exhibition in two locations, old and new across from each other, get the combined ticket), the maritime museum (huge and very illustrative about the history of Portugal and its world domination at one time, with large boats and even planes on display), the monastery and church, the archeology museum (which we skipped), the Centro Cultural de Belém (a modern building with concert halls, a fabulous exhibition of modern art, and a great restaurant bar called East-West).

The Monument to Discoveries that overlooks the river may be reopened by the time you get there, it's under restoration. Ditto for the Arte Popular museum.

Then you walk up the hill maybe 15 minutes and you have the Palacio Nacional de Ajuda, fabulous, and the nearby botanical garden with a nice restaurant.

That's all in Belém, which is 9 minutes by train or about 30 minutes by tram from the center of Lisbon where you will want to go up to the castle (Castelo) with the little bus that leaves from Praça da Figueira. What a ride!

Also don't miss the Fado museum, it's very well done with listening stations and what not. Go to a Fado House one evening!

So, I'm not saying you shouldn't go to Sintra, but... The train for Sintra leaves from the Rossio train station, near the Rossio metro station which is at the Praca Figuera.

Whereas the train for Estoril and Cascais starts out in Lisbon by the river at Cais do Sodre (an interchange of buses, trams, trains) and passes through Belém, so you can board it right there if you stay in Belém (which I obviously recommend, all the above are in walking distance).

As you get into Lisbon, buy the transport card VIVA VIAGEM, it costs 50 cents and you load it up with maybe 15 Euros or so. You can always top it up.

Paying cash for an individual bus ride costs 1.80 Euros, and if you transfer you pay again. With the card, it's 1.40 that includes all transfers or return trips within an hour of the first "tap". Piece of cake.

michelhuebeli

And I forgot one REAL big biggie, the Gulbenkian foundation (in Lisbon).
See https://gulbenkian.pt/en/
Easily reached by Metro

danon

I was in Lisbon 3 full days...did not have time for Sintra.
Loved Belem.

PalenQ

I enjoyed Sintra as much almost as anything in Lisbon -except Belem and the Hill Climbing Trolley Area- there are two palaces one right in town but one a good trek up a high hill and that's the famous one worth the trek out here.

HotelAvenidaPalace

Hello,
You should definitely visit Sintra, and from our calculations, you have the time, one day (Dec. 30th), if you leave early, should be enough. Take the train in the Rossio Train Station will take about 40 mins, then is a short walk to the center and you find all sort of transportation to take to the castles.