Guided Walks Through Sintra & Cascais + Sailing Trip, Lisbon

Experience different eras of Portugal's history on this excursion that takes you to the favorite destinations of the Portuguese royal family. You'll be taken from Lisbon to Sintra, whose romanticist palaces and lush gardens have made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A guide will take you through the striking red and yellow Pena Palace, and afterward, you'll stroll through Sintra's charming historic center. The next stop is the glamorous town of Cascais, where the royal family had their summer houses. You'll see local sites like the Cascais Citadel, and the final part of the trip will take you to sea, where you'll sail along the coast of Cascais, before returning to Lisbon.

Your day begins in Lisbon, where you'll meet your guide at a central location and be transferred to Sintra in a comfortable van or minibus. Sintra is a large park filled with castles, palaces, and gardens once used by the royal family. Your guide will take you through Pena Palace, one of Europe's best expressions of 19th-century romanticism, whose red and yellow facade gives it a fairy-tale quality. You'll get to walk through the peaceful gardens and take in views of the 8th-century Moorish Castle, a striking remnant of the Islamic presence in the Iberian Peninsula before the Reconquista.

You'll continue on to the historic village of Sintra, filled with colorful buildings and cobblestone streets. You'll have the chance to wander around and try one of the region's famous pastries like a travesseiro or queijada. The next stop is Cascais, once a fisherman village that became the summer destination for the Portuguese royal family and nobility, who built their impressive villas there. Your guide will lead you to the Cascais Citadel and you'll head to one of the area's more memorable natural sites: Boca do Inferno or "Hell's Mouth," a natural stone arch across rugged sea cliffs looking over the Atlantic.

Finally, you'll embark on a sailing adventure along the coast of Cascais to return back to the Lisbon area. Enjoy the sea breeze and smell of the ocean on this sailboat, which will cruise east, taking you past sites like Estoril, one of the biggest casinos in Europe. Your trip will end in Belém, the neighborhood in Lisbon known for its 16th-century tower, centuries-old monastery, and delectable pastries, Pastéis de Belém. From there, you can return to the center or your accommodations at your own pace.