Made for 2
You drive
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GPS Audio Guideactivity highlights
sintra beaches
Beautiful route with a lot of nature, which besides the Parque da Liberdade, the Historic Center of Sintra, the National Palace and the Museum of Natural History, also allows you to visit the mystical Quinta da Regaleira, Seteais Palace and Monserrate Park and Palace. After that, you will pass by the beautiful Praia das Maçãs and Praia Grande. If it's hot, take a dip!
All this while having fun listening to our talking cart in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, Italian, German or Dutch.
This tour is a partnership between Live Electric Tours and LAS Tours
In this 6-hour self-drive city tour in Sintra, your independence and privacy are guaranteed. Do you wish to change your route and take an alternative road? Don’t worry, your tour is customizable! Go wherever you want! Just you and yours, no one else to disturb!
All of this on board of the fantastic Renault Twizy, a little and funny 100% electric car made for 2. With this totally sustainable and eco-friendly vehicle we have managed to save tons of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere, making the city and our world cleaner places. That is why we were considered the best “Sustainable Tourism” StartUp in the world in 2020, for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
For your safety, and in accordance with DGS and WHO standards, we have implemented extraordinary measures to protect you from the Covid-19 pandemic. We adopted all published and approved standards so that you can enjoy your tour in a completely protected way. Our cars are disinfected at the beginning and end of each tour. This procedure is performed by our team, which complies with all the rules established for this purpose. We remind you that all of our tours are completely private, so you will not have contact with other people, except the friend/relative which is with you at the car. Interactions with our team will be reduced to a minimum, occurring only at the beginning and end of each tour, with all the security measures adopted.
Join us for this incredible adventure in the city of Sintra. Be at the scheduled date and time at Rua Dr. Alfredo da Costa 62, 2710-523, where the fun little Renault Twizy will be waiting for you for an unforgettable journey.
TOWN HALL
After the inauguration of the Lisbon-Sintra railroad in 1889, Sintra underwent important changes in its urban fabric. However, the impossibility of Vila itself gaining more ground in the Serra, happily led to the building of a new neighborhood, relatively remote and named Estefânia, in honor of Queen D. Estefânia, wife of D. Pedro V. There was, therefore, the displacement of the economic and social center, which also forced the transfer of the main administrative entities that remained installed in an 18th century building, close to Paço Real. For the construction of the new Town Hall, an accessible place was chosen, both for the so-called Vila Velha and for the Estefânia town. For this reason, the modern Paços do Concelho were built between both neighborhoods, in the place where, until then, the old chapel of São Sebastião stood. The construction of the new building in the Paços do Concelho, started in 1906, according to a project by Adães Bermudes, was completed in 1909. The building has austere facades, with soberly decorated neo-Manueline windows. On the main elevation, due to its magnificence, it stands out a tower topped by battlements, and by a pyramidal roof covered with tiles, which alternately represent the Cross of Christ and the National Shield. At the top, the armillary sphere appears majestically. Four other smaller ones flank this curious roof, crowning "sentry boxes" that form its corners. On this same elevation, a balcony stands out, full of Manueline-style arches and topped by a pediment on which the municipal weapons are inscribed. Inside there is a magnificent cloister, whose balconies on the upper floor have a rich neo-Manueline and Renaissance ornamentation.
VIGIA VIEWPOINT
The Miradouro da Vigia is located just 2 km from the historic center, in São Pedro de Sintra, and comprises a magnificent view, comparable only to a painting of the most beautiful postcards. It is possible to observe three hills, each with a stunning construction: the Pena National Palace, the Moorish Castle and the São Gregório Castle, a revivalist palace.
SABUGA FOUNTAIN
The current fountain was built in the 18th century, but the waters of Sabuga are already drunk and spoken, at least, since the century. XII, when the Crusader Osberno said that they ceased to cough. In the century. XVIII the fountain was redone, twice, once due to the damage caused by the earthquake of 1755. It has alternating spiers with pediments of Baroque taste, having, in the center, the weapons of the municipality surrounded by a thin border. Until 2005, the 3 walls of the fountain were covered with tile panels from the 19th century. XX, taken from the recent reform that proposed a more romantic view of the fountain. Today, it is impossible not to notice the contrast of its colours - blue and yellow.
SINTRA HISTORICAL CENTER
Sintra looks like a fairy tale, an ethereal or enchanted forest that has bewitched poets throughout time. It's where Lisbon cools off, thanks to a Twilight Zone-like microclimate that also attracted nobility to build palaces over the centuries. The result was Europe's first center of Romantic architecture, and it has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (the first "cultural landscape" in Europe to be listed).
It's where the Celts worshiped the moon, the Moors built their "great wall," and royalty erected their dream palaces. The most spectacular of all is Pena Palace, looking like a Disney extravagance but an actual royal residence from the 1800s. Other almost surreal constructions include Quinta da Regaleira, the Capuchos Convent and Monserrate Palace, plus fountains and waterfalls further adding to the mystical atmosphere whose spell no one is able to resist.
Just outside the center of town is Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of the European continent.
"PIRIQUITA" - DELICACIES HOUSE
Just as you cannot visit Belém without stopping at the Pasteis de Belém, you shouldn’t leave Sintra without trying a few sweets at the Casa Piriquita pastry shop. Look out for the travesseiro – a sticky, flaky and sweet rectangular cake filled with egg cream and flavored with almonds. This 155-year-old shop is also known for its queijadas. Stemming from the word queijo, which means cheese, queijadas are round cakes filled with cheese, sugar, eggs and cinnamon, surrounded by a delicious flour crust. Try to grab a seat inside to enjoy these Sintra-favorites with a coffee, or take your cakes to go.
PISÕES FOUNTAIN
The current Fonte dos Pisão was erected by the Sintra Tourism Initiative Commission, in 1931, and replaced the previous tank, with a chronology that dates back, at least, to the five hundred era, with the documentary memory of having already carried out improvement works there. in 1651, during the visit of D. Luísa de Gusmão to Sintra: «Sources - Item With the officers And workers q They will repair the fountain (...) of the floors And clean it». The existing fountain was designed by Mestre José da Fonseca and develops from a semi-circular structure, which is accessed through a low staircase. The backrest, flanked by bench seats, is profusely decorated with colorful geometric motifs carved into the mortar itself. In the center, there is a large circle framed by the rectilinear elevation of the frontal, patenting tile panels, signed by F.CA Ceramica Constancia - Lisbon, with polychrome and round ornamentation. There, in that circumference, there is the front itself, of Renaissance inspiration, inscribed in a ceramic ensemble, combining smooth backgrounds and floral friezes, from which a bas-relief emerges, in which, among the foliage, putti liven up, seated at an elevation. , drinking water or carrying small jugs and, in the center, another one, standing, holds a banner that reads: SALVE. It is, therefore, a compliment to the water, the salubrrima water of Sintra. Just below this lively sculptural composition, the “mount” that supports the putti is transmuted into the upper part of the spout through which it flows, abundantly, the cool and crystalline liquid that falls into a rectangular bowl that, in turn, releases the water to the well-tucked creeping tank for animals. According to Father Sebastião Nunes Borges, in the respective Parish Memory of April 22, 1758, the Fonte dos Pisão was located at the exit of the road from Sintra to Colares and had a greater current in winter, watering the top orchards with water, being enjoyed by the majority of the villagers.
REGALEIRA ESTATE
This enigmatic neo-Manueline monument is a magical place of fantastical gardens, grottoes, lakes, and a well with a monumental staircase spiraling down 30 meters.
It’s a fantasy turned into the residence of millionaire António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro (the top coffee importer of the time) in 1892, blending a variety of architectural styles in unexpected harmony.
Both the palace and the four acres of the romantic garden are filled with esoteric symbols, statues of mythological figures and a maze of grottoes, creating a fun experience that attracts an increasing number of visitors of all ages.
PARK AND PALACE OF MONSERRATE
Monserrate is deep in the mountain range, slightly removed from Sintra’s other palaces, and so isn’t quite as crowded.
But that doesn’t mean you can pass it by, because both the Moorish Revival palace and grounds are glorious.
It was all landscaped in the mid-19th century for Sir Francis Cook, an English aristocrat who was given the title Viscount of Monserrate by King Luís I. The parkland has bamboo plantations, grottoes, man-made waterfalls, ponds, exotic cedars and Oceanic tree ferns.
And as for the residence, the Islamic influence is undeniable, in the latticework in its arches, the arabesque stucco patterns on the stairway and the ceiling of the radiant music room, which hosts concerts to this day.
GRANDE "Big" BEACH
As its name indicates, it is a wide beach, very frequented by surfers and bodyboarders, constituting a mandatory stopover in the championships of these modalities. At the north end of Praia Grande, is one of the largest saltwater pools in Europe, about 100 meters long, belonging to the Hotel das Arribas. As a curiosity, be sure to observe the traces of the presence of dinosaurs that are engraved on the southern cliff of the beach, in which a deposit of eleven footprints is perfectly identifiable.
MAÇAS "Apples" BEACH
According to tradition the name of this beach originated from the apples that reached the sand, transported by the Ribeira de Colares that comes here to empty. Very busy during the summer, it has a spacious beach that is the stage for diverse sporting animation and a sea of ??strong waves, with good conditions for surfing. Frequented by local people and families who have their holiday homes here, Praia das Maçãs has, during the summer months, a direct and picturesque access from the village of Sintra, provided by the traditional tram whose route was recently recovered.
GARDEN AND VIEWPOINT OF CORRENTEZA
Another beautiful viewpoint of Sintra. An excellent place to relax and enjoy the luxuriant vegetation of Vale da Raposa, from where you can still admire the Castelo dos Mouros, the National Palace of Sintra and Vila Velha. Very close to the Historic Center of Sintra, this viewpoint is easily accessible from the train station of Sintra.
