A day of castles in a city of castles. It depends on who you ask, but there are at least five castles in Sintra. Ray got a Fitbit Skyscraper badge for 100 floors even with us taking an UBER up to the Moorish Castle (I CLAIMED I would die if I had to walk both ways😄)
Quinta Regalia, built in the late 1600s, is more of an estate than a typical castle. It is designed with all kinds of knights Templar and Masonic symbols and intrigue. One of its highlights is a well, called the initiation well, that is more like a tower that goes underground than upwards. I’m not sure who they were initiating, and maybe I don’t want to know, but of course, we had to climb down into the passages. Imagine if Elon Musk was designing a compound for his buddies. It feels like it would be a lot like this—intelligent, quirky, and a little bit creepy. The Moorish Castle is much older (1147). Although parts of it have been destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries, the ruins are 100% what I imagine they would be—towers, stairs and walls. A real fortress! The views of the other castles and Sintra are fabulous from the top. Of the two, this was my favourite. Although, the grounds of Quinta Regalia are stunning. If you could only visit one, which would you choose? Super warm weather here. You are Always in my Prayers. Love Mom.
23 Comments
NPW teacher
4/25/2023 12:45:08 pm
I am so jealous of what you are doing. I think I would love castles. I am a bit claustrophobic though... how dark and closed in are the downward steps and passages?
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Diane&Ray
4/25/2023 01:21:56 pm
I had a little trouble seeing going down the initiation well, but the stairs there were pretty wide. The tightest stairs we have had so far were to the feet of Jesus. Everything else is pretty well lit…they probably don’t want any tourist falling up or down.
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Haylee,angel,hanife,maya Westfield
4/26/2023 09:10:32 am
Though walking through a castle sounds fun what was the distance both ways and what did it feel like and were you scared.
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Ray
4/26/2023 03:01:50 pm
Each castle visited probably required a few kilometers of walking. It often surprises me that when you are visiting big cities you do so much walking. Even taking subways and trains involves walking to and through long distances. Everything has felt very safe. One streetcar ride was perhaps the most packed and swished I have ever been on public transit.
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NPE W Ava
4/26/2023 09:11:06 am
How long did it take you to get there and back? How did it go when you went through the secret passageways?
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Ray
4/26/2023 03:05:12 pm
It I took over an hour to get there by subway and train. Once in Sintra we walked to the castles. (About 20 minutes. Then very long lines to get in.
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Kinzie NPE7
4/26/2023 09:11:28 am
wow! that’s so cool, is anyone living in there at the moment!?
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Diane
4/26/2023 11:49:54 am
The Moorish Castle ,is In Ruins but Regalia still has building intact enough that events can be held. No one lives at either.
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Makayla and alexis npw7
4/26/2023 09:11:43 am
Around How many stairs are there in that castle?
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Ray
4/26/2023 03:09:50 pm
We certainly did not do all the steps at either castle and my Fitbit said we did 101 floors of climbing that day.
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4/26/2023 09:12:13 am
How far is the very top tower from the ground and it look super fun, so jealous
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Ray
4/26/2023 03:16:50 pm
The Torre Real, or Royal Tower is 500 steps above the castles central courtyard.
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NPW Alec and Connor
4/26/2023 09:14:08 am
How many steps did ray get?
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Ray
4/26/2023 03:18:54 pm
I got 23,000 steps on the day. It was a bit cooler towards the bottom and at some parts water was dripping down.
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Marcus
4/26/2023 09:20:33 am
What are each of the flags?
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Ray
4/26/2023 03:22:49 pm
Hoisted along the castle walls are iconic Portuguese flags adopted throughout history, starting with the original white flag with a blue cross adopted by D. Afonso Henriques after he conquered the land, and ending with the current Portuguese national flag. However, along the way you will also find hoisted a green flag with Sintra written in Arabic across it, paying tribute to Portugal’s vast Moorish cultural heritage.
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Autumn and Hailey W7
4/26/2023 09:22:25 am
How long was the walk in Moorish castle compared to the walk in Quinta Regalia? Also which one had the beat view?
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Ray
4/26/2023 03:24:32 pm
Much longer walks at the moorish castle. It sits on the highest point of land in the area and had great views.
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k
4/26/2023 10:09:23 am
how many people do you think there was
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Diane
4/26/2023 11:52:17 am
The Web says the Moorish. Castle gets 20 million visits a year
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fkhfij
4/28/2023 10:29:17 am
nice
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levi koobs
5/3/2023 11:02:26 am
wow! that sounds like so much fun, I would love to go there some day!
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Diane
5/4/2023 09:12:28 am
We have some pretty decent forts in Canada but nothing compares to the age of some of these old castles.
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