Sintra has always been a place wrapped in magic and mystery. Known since ancient times as the Mountain of the Moon, this village was considered sacred by Arabs, Templars, and alchemists.
Its colorful palaces, mist-covered forests, and enigmatic caves are the stage for haunted legends and ghost stories passed down through generations.

Below, discover the 6 most haunted places in Sintra, where beauty and the supernatural walk hand in hand.

1. Biester Palace: The mysterious “Witch House”

Biester Palace, also known as the Witch House, is one of the most mysterious places in Sintra. With neo-Gothic architecture, medieval frescoes, and occult symbols, this site is linked to secret societies and enigmatic rituals.

Its dark atmosphere and esoteric symbolism inspired the film The Ninth Gate, starring Johnny Depp. According to legend, one of the three copies of the book written by the devil may be hidden here. Want to know more about this story? Click here.

Location: Estrada da Pena, Sintra
Legend: The devil’s book and secret societies

Distance from Casa do Valle: 1.2 kilometers

Official website

2. Valenças Palace: The ghost of Palmira

In the heart of the village, Valenças Palace is famous for the legend of Palmira, a maid who fell in love with the count and, after being rejected, took her own life.
Since then, it’s believed that Palmira’s ghost roams the palace, sighing and making the floorboards creak.

Former employees of the old Municipal Library have reported strange noises and unexplained voices, reinforcing the building’s haunted reputation.

Location: Rua Visconde de Monserrate, 1, Sintra
Legend: The spirit of the maid Palmira

Distance from Casa do Valle: 700 meters

3. Quinta da Penha Verde: The unexplained rain of stones

Quinta da Penha Verde became famous for a documented paranormal phenomenon on October 17, 1982: for six hours, stones mysteriously fell out of nowhere onto the property.
The event was witnessed by firefighters, GNR officers, and locals; to this day, no convincing explanation has been found.

Location: Estrada da Nova Rainha, Sintra
Legend: The rain of stones of Penha Verde

Distance from Casa do Valle: 4.5 kilometers

4. Quinta da Regaleira: The Initiatic Well and the occult

Quinta da Regaleira is one of Sintra’s most visited and mystical sites. Its gardens hide Templar and Masonic symbols, caves, and underground tunnels.
The Initiatic Well represents the descent into the unconscious and the search for spiritual rebirth. Many visitors report temperature changes, echoes, and sensations of a presence.

Location: Rua Barbosa du Bocage, Sintra
Legend: The mystery of the Initiatic Well

Distance from Casa do Valle: 1.2 kilometers

Official website

5. National Palace of Sintra: The knight of the Coats of Arms Hall

In the village center, the National Palace of Sintra is known for its iconic chimneys and the Coats of Arms Hall, where, according to legend, the ghost of a knight who died in a duel appears.
It is said that on quiet nights, one can hear the sound of armor dragging through the corridors.

Location: Largo Rainha D. Amélia, Sintra
Legend: The knight wandering in search of redemption

Distance from Casa do Valle: 500 meters

Official website

6. Haunted road of Vale dos Anjos: The hitchhiking ghost

Between Colares and Vale dos Anjos lies a stretch of road locals call the “haunted road.”
Several drivers claim to have seen a woman asking for a ride, who then mysteriously disappears upon reaching her destination.
The phenomenon is known as “the hitchhiking ghost” and is one of the creepiest stories in Sintra.

Location: Estrada do Vale dos Anjos, Colares
Legend: The woman who vanishes after the ride

Distance from Casa do Valle: 1.2 kilometers

The most haunted places in Sintra: between the real and the supernatural

Known as the Mountain of the Moon, Sintra continues to inspire mysticism and curiosity.
Among unexplained phenomena, templars, and alchemists, the village remains one of Portugal’s most haunted and enigmatic destinations.
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, one thing is certain: Sintra has a unique energy that leaves no one indifferent.

If you are curious to uncover more of Sintra’s secrets, we invite you to take part in experiences where you become the protagonist of the story, uncovering the town’s hidden mysteries step by step.

Escape Warriors: Step into an interactive escape room where you and your team will be “locked” inside a themed setting filled with clues, puzzles, and riddles. Work together to solve the enigmas and find your way out before time runs out.

Official website

Mystery City: Sintra Outdoor Escape Game

Embark on an outdoor adventure through Sintra’s enchanting streets. This scavenger hunt, inspired by a true story, leads you to famous landmarks and hidden corners, revealing tales of love, power, and royal intrigue that shaped the town’s legend. Official website:

Official website

Dare to explore Sintra’s most haunted places?

Stay at Casa do Valle and uncover the mysteries of Sintra.

The post The most haunted places in Sintra: legends, mysteries, and ghost stories appeared first on Casa do Valle.

We want to alert you to the following:

• The Pena Palace and its gardens are located in the mountain, within the natural park. The palace itself is in the middle of the park, which is about 15–30-minute walk from the gates. These are accessible by public transportation (bus and taxi) or by foot; private cars are not allowed up the mountain.
• When purchasing the ticket, keep in mind that you have to be at the gates of the park at least 30 minutes before your chosen time slot, as the public transportation will leave you at the main gates and not at the entrance of the Palace;
• We strongly recommend that you enter through the Garden Gates instead of the main gates, to avoid crowds on your way to the palace (and the gardens are magnificent). This walk will be at least 30 minutes.

How to get to Pena Palace from Casa do Valle?

• If you are hiking from Casa do Valle to the Palace, it will take you up to an hour and a half to get to the gates of the park, and nearly two hours to the main gates;
• If you are going by taxi from Casa do Valle, it will take you about 30 minutes;
• If you prefer the bus, you can walk to the Historical Center, 500 meters from Casa do Valle, and take the bus 434 up to the Pena Palace. This option will take you at least one hour.

As our guest, we will happily assist you with planning your visit at check-in if needed. We can provide you with maps for your hike, or, alternatively, you can guide yourself through our free hiking app WalkSintra, which you can download on Google Play and the APP Store to follow the trail of the amazing hike to the Palace.

The post How to get to Pena Palace: Important tips to enhance your visit appeared first on Casa do Valle.

Ernesto Biester, a Portuguese journalist and playwright of German origin, famous in his time,  ordered this mansion to be built in around 1880 from the architect José Luis Monteiro.  Its interior was conceived by the famous Italian that worked on Quinta da Regaleira, also in Sintra, and the sceneries of La Scala Opera in Milano, and theater São Carlos in Lisbon: Luigi Manini – and the sculpture Leandro Braga.  Biester asked Monteiro to use the English style  called ‘Queen Ann’ style, a mixture of Neo-Gothic and Neo-Romantic. The result is one of the most important buildings of his career  and of Portuguese revivalist architecture, the Biester Chalet.  Interestingly, all the four façades are completely different from each other, using a harmonious composition of various elements and of various architectural and decorative styles.

The chalet sits on the way to Pena Palace, perfectly fitting its surroundings. Its gardens are simple and perfect, adding to the artistic effect of the chalet.  The house became an attraction and a landmark for Sintra, and is one of the first buildings and finest examples of chalets of its kind.  I was lucky enough to visit it in about 1994 when it was rented by an American family.  Impressive.  The inside has a centralized plan with a large staircase.  The house is well organized by use, practical, has a couple of kitchens, a second ‘service staircase’ more in hiding and an interior chapel.  Even if every tenant changes some of the furniture, they cannot change the impressive woodwork and stain glass windows, yet the house was still ‘homey’.  If you want to see its inside, watch the movie, the Ninth Gate!

But no,  I don’t think it’s for sale, if that was your next thought!

The post Chalet Biester – the film set for Johnny Depp’s ‘Ninth Gate’ appeared first on Casa do Valle.

A BRIEF HISTORY A monastery was built around the chapel and for centuries  it was a quiet place of worship.  The 1775 earthquake reduced the monastery to ruins – and it stayed that way until King Consort Ferdinand the 2nd bought it and the surrounding lands, including the Moorish Castle, and had it built in a romantic style by Baron von Eschwege.

The construction took 12 years, the palace was decorated by Queen Mary and the Palace became the Royal family’s summer residence.  After the queen died, King Ferdinand remarried, and after his death, the palace fell out of royal hands.  Later King Louis bought it back from his father’s widow so that the royal family could continue residing in it.  In 1889 Portugal’s last queen, Queen Amélia, sold the palace to the State as the royal family was short on money.  In 1910 the Pena National Palace was declared a National Monument.  The 200 hectares of forest land was turned into Pena Park at the same time with much care and attention.  Exotic trees were ordered from all around the world, including Redwoods from America and Camélias from Japan.

THE PENA PALACE features everything a fairytale castle needs: drawbridge, turrets, ramparts, battlements, domes, gargoyles, all in a array of pastel colours.

At night the Palace is lit.  As the highest point reaches 529 meters, the low clouds often cover the palace which looks like it is in flames as the lights fold from the clouds.  The colourful palace is often featured in book covers and films, and is one of the favourite monuments of our guests.

What makes it so nice to visit, is that it looks like someone still lives there: the beds are made, the tables are set, there are clothes hanging and small items on site.  You see the bathrooms and even go through the kitchen.   It is also interesting to see the restoration work: as the palace has not been closed during restoration works, the visitors can admire the men and women diligently working on the walls and furniture.

THE PARK is fabulous.  Monte da Lua, Parques de Sintra organization takes care of the palace and its grounds, and does so well.  The park is truly a fairytale: a magic forest with lakes, white swans, black swans, winding paths, small water falls, bridges, rare species of flowers and trees… Near the queen’s fern garden, there is a place where someone I know swears having seen fairies.  I have not, but it is true, that if I were a fairy, that is where I would like to live!

HOW TO GET THERE

There are two entrances to the Palace, the main gate and the gates of the park.  If walking a bit of uphill is not your thing, you should go in the main gates as there is a small bus (paid) to take you up.  But if you can do a bit of walking, going in through the park entrance is certainly worth the walk.  Straight to the palace from the park entrance takes about 15 minutes, but most people love to wonder in the park a bit longer.

The way up the mountain can be done in various ways:  you can  walk, ride a bike,  take bus 434, a taxi or an Uber.  From the city center by road it is about 3-3,5 kms.

Using the footpaths, from Casa do Valle, it takes approximately 45-60 minutes to the gates of the park (though many take longer as they stop and take pictures and just enjoy the sights on the way).  If this is your option, make sure you ask us for instructions to find the best footpaths. We have paper maps with written instructions as well as a Walking APP in digital form available.

The bus (#434) is for those with a strong stomach and great nerves – those who easily get nauseated or don’t like to wait should skip this option due to the winding roads and an easily full bus.  In the summer, even if there are 3 or 4 buses an hour, you may have to wait a long while for the bus – traffic slows the buses down and they are often too full to fit everyone in.

If you come to Sintra in your own car, be aware that private cars are not allowed up the mountain.  You should leave your car in one of the peripheral parking areas and take a free shuttle to the station or to town, and then choose your preferred way to go up: walking, or by some form of public transportation.

A few last notes:

• Summer or winter, it is always cool up the mountain, it is worth taking a long-sleeve something along.
• Plan ahead: if you want to go to the Moorish Castle as well, buy a combined ticket to save money. Even if you cannot see them both on the same day, the ticket is valid for a month.
• There is a coffee shop and a restaurant at the Palace.
• No inside photography is allowed, but it is easy to ‘get lost’ with photography in the park.

This is a blog entry in the series ‘in our view’ – short stories of the things you do see in our view, from the garden, by the pool, from the rooms. 

The post Pena Palace and Park appeared first on Casa do Valle.

A BRIEF HISTORY

The Castle was constructed during the 8th and 9th century, during the period of Arab occupation of the Iberian Peninsula.  After Afonso Henriques’ forces conquered Lisbon in 1147, the castle voluntarily surrendered to Christian forces.  A small group of people inhabited the Castle and constructed a chapel of São Pedro de Canaferrim near the castle walls.

The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 did considerable damage to the chapel and  the stability of the castle, already damaged by a huge fire started by a lightning. In 1840 Ferdinand ll of Portugal  took the task to recuperating it.  True to his romantic style, he consolidated the walls, reforested the spaces, created nooks and manicured spaces, and conserved the chapel. Many restoration projects have since taken place, the most recent by Monte da Lua, the organization that takes care of Parks and Palaces of Sintra.  These works included more fortification works, recuperation and  lighting of paths and walkways and recuperation of the outer walls of the Castle.  The chapel was restored and there were archaeological excavations on site. New paths through the mountain were finished for greater access to the Castle.  The surroundings of the Castle are now almost as nice as the Castle itself.

How to Get to the Castle of the Moors

The access to the mountain top monuments is either made by public transportation or on foot.

Since 2020, no private cars are allowed up the mountain.  If you drive to Sintra, you should leave your car in one of the peripheral parking lots and take a free shuttle to the station. There you can catch the bus 434 to the monuments.  From the ticket booth, it is a walk of about 400 meters through a beautifully cared for forest-garden park to the Castle.

You can also go up with a bicycle, Uber or Taxi.

Walking is definitely the best way to take in Sintra mountain.

There are a few ways to walk up, in addition to the obvious road.  A foot path starts up by the Santa

Maria church, along the PR2/3.  It is quite steep in the beginning, leveling off after a while.  Gorgeous views on the way, tall trees and huge boulders aline the path.  From the Historic Center it is about a 30 minute climb to the Castle.  Another way would be to start opposite of the Seteais Palace through the beautiful forest on the PR4 footpath through Azinhaga dos Anjos. I would suggest to take this option up and the first mentioned option down.
It takes about 10-15 minutes from the Historic Center to Seteais and another 30 minutes to the Moorish Castle.  It is a bit longer, but definitely smoother and easier way. You can also access the Castle through Vila Sassetti.

At Casa do Valle we have maps and instructions for these hikes, as well as a Walking APP with this and other walks in Sintra, if you prefer the digital format.

Tickets – You can buy your ticket on line or from any ticket office prior to hiking up so you don’t have to worry about finding the ticket booth. If you plan to visit other palaces during your Sintra visit, ask for a combined ticket, it does make it  more economical.  Also family, student, senior citizen and group discounts are available.  Tickets can also be purchased at the reception of Casa do Valle.

Regarding timing, plan at least an hour and a half for your visit of the Castle of the Moors and the surroundings. There are normally less visitors the first thing in the morning.

A point of interest, or a word of caution: the walls have been reconstructed, so they are safe to walk.  However, they are high and do not have safety-netting or acrylic walls around them – they are in there natural state, which to me is great!  Just be careful with small children – and with yourself, if you are weary of heights.  Stay close to the walls and touch them to avoid vertigos!

The post The Castle of the Moors (Castelo dos Mouros) appeared first on Casa do Valle.

SHORT HISTORY

Quinta da Regaleira never was a royal anything.  A private house, used as a summer residence,  of Carvalho Monteiro, who bought it in 1892 from the barons of Regaleira.  He transformed it to its glory with the famous architect Luigi Manini, known for his theatrical works.  There is a lot to be said about Quinta da Regaleira, or Palácio dos Milhões, as it is also called.  It is beautifully built in neo-manueline style with strong ties to the discoveries – the 4 hectar grounds are beautifully landscaped, going from very groomed and formal to progressively wilder, almost primitive as you advance from the palace towards the mountain.  After several changes of owners, Sintra city hall bought it in 1997 and in 2002 it was declared a building of Public Interest.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

There are many facets to the Quinta. Art and architecture are obviously important – from the palace itself to the statues, paintwork, inlayed woods, gothic arts, and even some classical elements.  You can see the works of some of  Portugal’s best artists: António Gonçalves, João Machado, José da Fonseca, Costa Motta and Rodrigo de Castro as sculptors in stone and Júlio da Fonseca in wood. There is a part of the garden with 9 statues of Greek gods.  The classic mythology was one of the inspirations of Carvalho Monteiro, and the garden has been divided into areas inspired by the gods, through color schemes and form.

ESOTERISM AND SYMBOLISM

There are many facets to the Quinta. Art and architecture are obviously important – from the palace itself to the statues, paintwork, inlayed woods, gothic arts, and even some classical elements.  You can see the works of some of  Portugal’s best artists: António Gonçalves, João Machado, José da Fonseca, Costa Motta and Rodrigo de Castro as sculptors in stone and Júlio da Fonseca in wood. There is a part of the garden with 9 statues of Greek gods.  The classic mythology was one of the inspirations of Carvalho Monteiro, and the garden has been divided into areas inspired by the gods, through color schemes and form.

Many tunnels and caves lead from the well to other parts of the grounds.  They are covered with maritime rock brought in from the seafont from Pencihe region to give an air of submerged world. The chapel is beautifully painted with themes of Mary; Mary receiving the message of bearing God’s child from angel Gabriel, Jesus resucssitated crowning a woman, supposedly Mary or Magdalena.

MAINTENANCE

The grounds are managed by Fundação Cultursintra.  In addition to keeping everything up, they organize cultural events in the grounds.  In the summer they have months of outside theatre, ranging from the Tempest and Romeo and Juliet  of Shakespeare to Alice in Wonderland on weekend evenings.  There are concerts from jazz to classical as well as courses and conferences regularly. Thematic visits are organized (treasure hunts for children etc)  as are exhibitions and educational activities.  Visit their website  for events near your visit to Sintra so you can plan ahead.

Regaleira is definitely worth the visit! You could spend a day or two easily in the quinta.  The whole family enjoys it.  The secret passages appeal to the young, the art to all ages, the gardens especially to the gardening enthusiasts.

SOME HELPFUL TIPS

• You can walk to Regaleira rom Casa do Valle in 15-20 minutes, it is about 1 km from us.  There is NO PARKING WHAT SO EVER, so better not take your car. If you prefer not to walk, you can take a taxi or an Uber to get there. From the Station, you can also take a bus #435, but from the Historic Center it is not worth it.
• I would strongly suggest a guided tour first to visit the grounds so as not to miss all the symbolism, they are available in many languages but must be booked in advance, you can often do it from a day to another. An audio guide is helpful as well, but not the same thing.
• There is a nice restaurant on premises, so it is easy to spend a long time there.
• Kids usually love this place, they can run around and discover a lot.  Make sure you do not lose sight of them, though – it is easy to get lost there
• Do bring a flashlight (we can lend you one if necessary) to explore underground tunnels, as not all of them are lit.
• Wear good shoes that you don’t mind getting wet as some of the tunnels have small puddles and you may fall off the stepping stones if you venture on the ponds.
• Plan to spend at least two hours to visit, many spend the whole day once they get started.

The post Quinta da Regaleira, the mystical place of masonry, art and master landscaping appeared first on Casa do Valle.