Sintra / Cascais

It has inspired writers such as Hans Christian Andersen, author of The Little Mermaid among other children’s tales, and some say that it may have inspired Walt Disney who created films of the same genre. In fact Sintra, or Moon Hill as it has been known since ancient times this mountain, is a work of art from Nature. Place where the trees grow exponentially and the vegetation takes on a green … ..really, much is due to the unique proximity of the Atlantic Ocean, which brings moisture all year round, coupled with the sun that squeezes in the hottest hours of the day. All the conditions are met for the fantastic landscape, which has become the first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The royal palace of Pena, nicknamed in honor of Our Lady of Penha (rock), was built on top of this fantastic mountain. It is said that D. Manuel I while riding there saw the fleet of Vasco da Gama with the good news that finally arrived in India, and there he would have built the Penha Monastery, which would later be used as the basis for the new palace. This time the work of Fernando II, King consort of D. Maria II. He, originally from the German Saxony-Gota family, and a great lover of the arts, buys in the first year of reign the properties surrounding the monastery and built … Pena Palace as a royal summer house and as a gift for its queen while leaving her legacy for the people to support … ..The Queen dies before the completion of the construction work in her 11th pregnancy, it was not very normal at that time to have so much contact between royalty, but Fernando II was an unavoidable romantic. In second marriage Fernando II marries Helisa Hendler, later titled Countess of Edla, Austrian opera singer and ballet dancer. The palace recreates several Portuguese buildings such as the Belém Tower or the Convent of Christ in Tomar. … “Nothing was left to chance in this masterpiece of Romanticism” .. I invite you to stroll through the gigantic park of 200 hectares all day long, surely you will find the peace you need. Of course Sintra’s history is not just about royal palaces, the Moorish Castle is an equally impressive structure built over 1000 years ago by the Moors on the rugged hill … Well I can not tell you everything … you have to visit Sintra to understand the rest for you. Come on from there ….