Guide to Pena Palace • Sintra, Portugal

During Jesús and my trip to Lisbon, we went out of our way to check Palacio Nacional da Pena (Pena Palace) off my travel bucket list with a day trip out to Sintra, Portugal!

The moment I saw this place for the first time online, I feel in love with it’s bright colors and fascinating architecture, and couldn’t wait to see it in person for myself one day.

Through the process of getting there and soaking it all in among thousands of people, I learned a lot more than what the internet prepared me for. I wanted to share about our whole experience with you to hopefully help in planning your future trip to Pena Palace (or to simply shed more light on this incredible tourist attraction)!

I’ve listed out tips for planning your trip, what to expect, what to wear/bring, some transformation info and recommendations once you arrive! Enjoy!

Planning Your Trip:

Buy your tickets online to save from waiting in a line!

There are two different tickets to choose from to enter the Palacio Nacional da Pena; “Palace and Park Ticket” and “Park Ticket”.

The “Palace and Park ticket” allows you entrance to the park grounds, the terraces surrounding the palace and the staterooms (interior of the palace).

The “Park” ticket provides entry to the park grounds (gardens) and the Palace’s terraces only.

The highlight of Pena Palace (and that which you see most on Instagram) are the colorful terraces and decorative exterior - these can be all seen and enjoyed with the cheaper “Park” ticket if you’re not interested in going inside.

I’d personally recommend buying the ticket for the interior of the castle and the grounds because the staterooms are just so fascinating and beautiful.

The best time of year to visit will be during spring or early autumn according to the travel guides I checked out prior to visiting. July-August is their peak tourist season, mixed with very hot summer days, I’d recommend planning your trip outside of these months if you can.

Regardless, it’ll be busy. Pena Palace is the most visited palace in the country (and for good reason).

I’d give yourself a few hours to spend there, to really take in the castle and grounds (although this could vary widely according to your plans and interests that day).
Be sure to look up the weather for Pena Palace/Sintra before heading out that day. Because Pena Palace has its own micro climate, the weather at the Palace will vary entirely on it’s own. Although we visited on a warm day in Sintra, it was super chilly and windy up at the castle.
Based on time of year, the weather tends to be ideal in spring and early autumn. Weather at Pena Palace can get super hot in the summers (to be expected) and then pretty unpredictable in winter.
If you want to beat crowds, to get that stunning shot for IG, plan to get to Pena Palace right when it opens in the morning. Some travel sites said that you could go late in the evening when the crowds are dying down (which could be a valid option since I noticed it clearing out a bit when we left in the late afternoon) however, we went for the early option and it worked for us.

IG versus Reality is real here. Bloggers might have you convinced (myself included) that Pena Palace will be a scerene, wide open castle to shoot incredible images in, with hardly anyone around. But that’s not the reality. If it’s a busy day, and you don’t arrive before the crowd, I’d encourage you to make the most of the situation and have fun with your photos anyway. Get creative and be respectful to the people around you. We’re all just huddled together to see something breathtaking.

What to wear + What to Bring

Comfortable shoes for walking (this is key)!
A light jacket (specifically if visiting in spring or fall) - it could be surprisingly chilly at the Palace.
A water bottle (unless you’d like to buy an overpriced one there ha)
Lunch - if you plan to have a picnic! There is a place to get lunch on one of the castle terraces, but it’s quite pricey and wasn’t very appetizing in my opinion.
A portable phone charger if you plan to spend the whole day exploring Sintra’s other castles as well (which you definitely could!).

Transportation:

You can take a train to the city of Sintra from the main station in Lisbon. The line for the ticket counter or machines could get long in the morning, so plan to give yourself enough time to get to the station to buy tickets before boarding the train.
When you get to Sintra (the last stop), I’d recommend calling an Uber to take you up to Pena Palace. If supply is low in the summer, you may need to take the bus!
When you finish exploring Pena Palace, I’d recommend taking a tuk-tuk back down to the train station or to wherever your next destination might be in that area (it was the most available and the cheapest option for us at the time).

The Palace:

Once you’re at the entrance gate of the palace, be prepared to do a little hiking uphill to get to the actual palace, or you can wait for a shuttle that comes by in intervals of time. We hiked because the line was getting quite long for the shuttle.
If you’re excited about photos, and you arrive early in the morning, you’ll have to decide if you want to prioritize shooting, or seeing the tour of the castle interior. The line for the interior tour will be growing by the minute, and the courtyard will also be slowly filling up (as you don’t need a castle ticket to explore the terraces and castle grounds). So if getting in to the castle without having to wait in a long line matters to you more, stay in line. If some tourist-free shots matter to you more, I’d recommend exploring the terraces first and then waiting to get back in line after it dies down a little bit later that afternoon (which is what we did).
DON’T SKIP THE GARDENS/Palace grounds! Ah! The surrounding gardens on the mountain are absolutely stunning, and having reflected on our trip afterward - I wish we would have spent a little more time strolling through them.
According to the Parques de Sintra site, “The Park of Pena, the Pena Farm and Stables have special areas where you can picnic in the open air.” I think a picnic here sounds like it would be really beautiful - so that’s an option to consider!
From Pena onward, Quinta da Regaleira and Monserrate Palace are two other stunning (less touristy) castles in Sintra that were recommended to me to visit. We didn’t have the chance to check them out, but I would love to the next time we visit Sintra, Portugal! ;)