Portugal Sintra Inverted Tower And Palaces, Historical Places To Visit

With its magical geography, impressive palaces and parks, Sintra (Lisbon, Portugal), in our opinion, takes Portugal away from this world. In this travel article, we will try to explain to you the architectural structures, palaces and castles in the region, as well as questions such as how to go to Sintra and where to visit Sintra.

First, let’s take a brief look at where Sintra is. One of the suburbs of Greater Lisbon with its capital in Lisbon, this magical place is a delicious historical city, 28 km from Lisbon, surrounded by greenery and small hills, on top of the country’s architecture. It consists of magnificent palaces and magnificent castles. Especially in the XVIII-XIX centuries, it was a settlement where aristocrats, poets and writers lived for a while. Archaeological monuments of the Neolithic period have also been found in Sintra. However, since the 18th century, the city has been famous in Europe for its romantic palaces, castles and cobbled streets.

Where is Sintra in Portugal? How to go?

Before moving on to the magical historical sites of Sintra and the Inverted Tower, it is necessary to briefly explain how to get to Sintra and the prices in Sintra. If you travel by train from the center of Lisbon, you will find yourself at Sintra station in about an hour. If you are not planning to stay here, so if you want to visit Sintra for a day, plan well before you come here. Because walking in the Sintra region of Portugal is a little difficult for a day. At least you won’t waste time making plans. Trains that you can pick up from Oriente or Rosso stations are very convenient and often depart. The 47-minute trip is very cheap, you can buy a round-trip ticket for about 5 euros, and you can get a free ticket at the Lisbon crossing. Let’s add a note here, it is useful to go to the websites of the palace or castle you are planning to visit and check whether it is restored.

There is no need to rent a taxi or car in this area. Because there are buses going to and from the district every half an hour, and these buses go everywhere in the district. One of the stops is directly at the exit of the station. In the center of Sintra is the Sintra National Palace. You can sit and breathe in the surrounding cafes, look at the handmade souvenirs on the side streets. Although it is a tourist destination, food and drink are not very expensive, drinks range from 3.5 to 5 euros. If you come here to taste the air of Sintra, we say go for a walk. Even the Moors Castle on the hill can be reached in 40 minutes on foot. As we said, it is actually a small town. Before going into details, it should be noted that this place was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995 as the Cultural Landscape of Sintra. Until you get here, you will see traces of the Renaissance, the Maghreb, Gothic and Egypt together.

Places to visit in Sintra

Sintra National Palace

Although this palace, which we can identify as the center, is located on the coast of Sintra, it is an elegant medieval architectural structure. The Sintra National Palace is one of the few surviving palaces in Portugal. The palace generally has Gothic architectural features. The first information about this palace was given in written sources by the Arab geographer Al-Bakri. In 1147, the first king of Portugal conquered the region and put an end to Muslim control in the region. This process occurs both in the formation of buildings and in the use of eastern and western traces on both sides of the palace in material details. Here you can see the magnificent harmony of buildings built in different periods. Unique geometry with decorations, arches, colorful ceramics and both eastern and western influences make the palace unique. In short, this palace has a very important place in Portugal from the past to the present.

Quinta Da Regaleira Garden

Quinta da Regaleira consists of a magnificent palace, chapel, lake and caves, wells, fountains and a small waterfall. The name of the palace located inside the site is also known as the Millionaire Monteiro Palace. Although various people own the land here, in fact, the owner of the land in 1892, Carvalho Monteiro and Italian architect Luigi Manini, made the shape of the land that has survived until today. This work continued between 1904 and 1910. Carvalho Monteiro used various symbols in the fields of chemistry, astronomy, flowers, knights and Freemasonry in the 4-hectare area as part of the ideology and interests he valued and dominated. For example, the earth, including the palace, defines the universe under the name of astronomy and space sciences. We say this because it really explains. All the structures, shapes, types and lengths of the trees in the garden are designed to represent something in the universe. The palace in the garden is located in the corner of the garden and has five floors. Many rooms are open to visitors. The palace is a mixture of different architectural styles. No matter where you look in the palace, it is easy not to be surprised. The world-famous Initiation Wells is in this garden. If it takes 3 hours to visit the entire park, you should also set aside an hour for the Reverse Tower. The spiral staircase in the inverted tower is based on the death / rebirth allegory of the hermetic tradition. The inverted tower was not intended as a water well and has never been used for this purpose. At the base of the tower there is a compass shape on the Cross of the Knights Templar. The tower has 139 steps, and the spiral staircase has 9 platforms. According to various sources, heaven and hell are represented in this way.

Sintra Inverted Tower

A little ahead of the Inverted Tower, there is also the Unfinished Well, which is inverted like the Inverted Tower. Although it is not as well known as the Reverse Tower, we would like you to see this ‘inverted tower’ a few hundred meters away. It remains unclear why this unfinished tower was not completed. No one knows if the architect did not finish it or if the tower was like this because it served a purpose. Both towers are visited from top to bottom. It is not allowed to go from bottom to top. Around these two towers is a network of caves. Let’s say that the formation is very natural while walking around the caves; Don’t put your hand on the walls too much, spiders and bugs are abundant.

There is also a waterfall in Quinta da Regaleira. Although not very large, this small lake coincides with one of the exits of the caves. There is a temple a short distance from the palace. When you go down to the lower floor of the chapel, you go to another part of the garden. In the 4-hectare garden, you pass many signs and symbols, from chemistry to Freemasonry, from astronomy to the Knights Templar.