Sintra is like a picturesque fairy tale come true with its rippling mountains, dewy forests thick with ferns, exotic gardens, and glittering palaces. Sintra-Vila, the centre of the Unesco World Heritage-listed region, has pastel-hued manors tucked into luxuriant hills.
Byron spoke about Sintra’s charms, proclaiming it as ‘Lo! Cintra’s glorious Eden intervenes, In variegated maze of mount and glen.’ While the Celts worshiped their moon god, the Moors built a fort, and the 18th-century Portuguese royals swanned around its dreamy gardens.