skip-the-line/pre-booked entrances in Sintra, Lisbon attractions ,
 

Greetings!

Trying to figure out if any of the main attractions have "skip-the-line" or prebooked by time slot entrances especially in Lisbon and Sintra.

When planning our visit to Spain (Barcellona, Granada, Madrid) there were many sites that would allow you to buy tickets in advance and even select times when you enter. That made planning and scheduling much easier.

Is there a similar system at any of the popular sites in Portugal? I've been watching some videos on YouTube and the lines I see are crazy (ex. Sintra looks packed in every video!). It'd be great if there was a way to buy tickets that would allow a smoother entrance even if they cost more. Definitely would help with keeping up with the schedule!

Would appreciate any suggestions and advice!
Anna

You can buy tickets online ahead of time for Pena Palace in Sintra I believe. I wish I had - lines were crazy long at the entrance as you saw. Otherwise, I think you can buy them at other palaces (e.g. at the Moorish castle ruins, where there may not be a line, if you visit there first).

You can purchase tickets online for Jeronimos Monastery in Belem. We did not do that, and I wish we had. When we arrived at opening time, the line to buy tickets was not very long, so we were confident we would have a short wait. However, what happens is that tour groups and people who bought their tickets in advance are allowed in before the rest of us. The tour groups kept coming and coming! So we had to wait in line for an hour. This was in April.

Thank you, Andrew! Got a nice reply from the company managing Pena Palace in Sintra. So, yes, I'll be getting advanced tickets for that as well as the transfer from the gates to the Palace entrance. Tough walk up for older people ;)) Too bad that they don't do time slots for entrance as in Granada's Alhambra. In videos Pena Palace looks crowded all the time.

KarenWoo, thank you. Still cannot find exactly where one would buy tickets online for Jeronimos Monastery. On their website it says "Ticket sales: at the National Museum of Archeology". I've written to the email address on their website. If I get any information on how to buy the tickets online, I'll post it here.

When I was planning my trip, I do remember reading that you can purchase the Jeronimos Monastery tickets at the National Museum of Archaeology. You enter the Museum first. Then go to the Monastery. I believe the 2 buildings are connected. I didn't do that because I didn't think long lines/waits would be an issue in April. But I was wrong.

I think you can also buy a combo ticket at the Belem Tower for both the Tower and the Monastery. There are lines at Belem Tower, too, but not as long as the lines at the monastery. So I decided to go to the top of the Discoveries Monument instead of the Tower because I had read the views from there are better than the views from the Tower. There were no lines at all at the Discoveries Monument. We took an elevator to the top. Very quick and easy. And gorgeous views!!!

Great tip KarenWoo. I'll keep in mind that we can go up to the top of the Discoveries Monument. If I remember correctly, Belem Tower has no elevator, so for the older folks in our group, it might be pretty tough.

I got a reply from Jeronios Monastery: "We inform that we do not make reservations of tickets, can acquire with a maximum advance of 48h the tickets in the automatic machines located at the entrance of the museum of archeology." So it's official that tickets cannot be purchased online.