38.79° N · 9.39° W · Sintra
The coloured palace that crowns the Sintra mountains can be seen from almost the whole municipality. Inside it keeps the rooms left by the royal family; around it, a park of more than 80 hectares with lakes, the chalet of the Countess of Edla and the Cruz Alta. The essential visit costs €20 and must be bought with a date.
Part of Sintra
Step by step
The palace ticket is sold for a specific day and time. The essential visit includes the park and the palace; if you only want the park, it costs €12.
You cannot go up by private car. Take bus 434 at Sintra station or walk up from the town along the Vila Sassetti trail and the Moorish Castle.
From the main gate there is a steep slope among trees. If you don't want to walk it, there is an internal shuttle for €4.50.
Walk the terraces first, with the view over the Atlantic and the Moorish Castle, and then the rooms.
Go down towards the lakes and the chalet of the Countess of Edla, or climb to the Cruz Alta, the highest point of the mountains.
It was built by the king consort Ferdinand II in the 19th century on top of an old monastery, and mixes Arabic towers, Manueline windows and fairy-tale battlements. It is the most visited place in Sintra, so the order in which you do it matters.
The palace is explored along the outdoor terraces and through the rooms the royal family left furnished. Parques de Sintra highlights the private apartments, the Manueline cloister of the old monastery, King Carlos's chambers, Ferdinand II's bedroom, the great hall, the chapel, the kitchen, the Arches courtyard and the sentry path, which goes round the building on the outside with the mountains and the Atlantic at your feet. From here you see opposite the Moorish Castle, running along the neighbouring ridge.
The park is as important as the palace and covers the whole slope: a forest of species from half the world planted by Ferdinand II. Its main corners are the Valley of the Lakes and the Fountain of the Birds, the Queen's Fern Valley, the Camellia Garden, the Temple of Columns, the Pena farm, the chalet and garden of the Countess of Edla, and the Cruz Alta, the highest point of the mountains.
The park is open from 9:00 to 19:00, with last sale and last entry at 18:00. The palace, from 9:30 to 18:30: the last ticket is sold at 17:30 and last entry is at 18:00. Palace tickets are sold only for a specific day and time.
As well as the essential visit (€20 adults, €18 young people aged 6 to 17 and over-65s, €65 for the family ticket of two adults and two young people) and the park-only one (€12, €10 and €40 for the family), Parques de Sintra sells a complete visit (€45 adults), a guided visit to the palace (€75) and a dramatised one (€95). Children under 6 do not pay. Parques de Sintra publishes occasional closures on its website: on 11 November 2026, for example, all its monuments were closed.
The internal shuttle between the park entrance and the palace runs every 15 minutes. It goes up from the park stop from 9:00 to 18:15 and the last one comes down from the palace at 18:30.
From Lisbon, the Sintra line train leaves from Rossio, Oriente and Entrecampos. At Sintra station you take Scotturb bus 434, which goes up to Pena. The park has two entrances, the main one and the Lakes one. Access by private car is not allowed: park in the historic centre or in the peripheral car parks, or walk up the waymarked trails, such as Vila Sassetti.
Who it's for
What to bring
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Itineraries
Tips
At 9:30, when the palace opens, the terraces are almost empty. At midday there is a queue in the rooms.
Park in the car parks on the outskirts, such as Lourel, and go up on the 434 or on foot.
In fog the palace disappears among the clouds. If the day dawns clear, use it for Pena.
Questions
The essential visit, €20 for adults and €18 for young people aged 6 to 17 and over-65s. Park only, €12. Children under 6 do not pay.
Yes: the palace ticket is always sold for a day and time. In high season it is wise to do so days ahead.
No. Access is closed to private cars: go up on bus 434 or on foot along the waymarked trails.
Half a day for the palace and part of the park. If you want the lakes, the chalet and the Cruz Alta, count on the whole day.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/lisbon-region/sintra/things-to-do/pena-palace
