Alex Welcomes You To Her Castle!

Yes, it’s got some wear and tear – because this Moorish castle in Portugal has defended Kings and Queens for centuries!

Sintra Portugal is home to the “Castelo Dos Mouros” – an 8th-to-12th century Moorish castle!

Christian invaders stormed the castle in 1147 – today it was just us and a lot of other happy tourists!

A bit more history: King Ferdinand partially restored the castle in the 1800’s as it was so close to Pena Palace, where he lived…here’s a look at the entire area high above Sintra, which is just a half hour outside Lisbon.

Looking at the map of Sintra, you can see Pena Palace in the lower middle of the map – that is actually the highest spot, with lower Sintra above on the map but actually down the hill:

Here is Pena Palace – and you can also see on the lower right on the map is the “Moorish Castle”- and it’s easily visible from the Palace towers – here’s what you can see from Pena Palace:

So, after an incredible visit to Pena Palace (which I will share later in this post), we decided to walk over to the castle!

It only takes about 20 minutes to get form the palace to the castle, along some steep stairs and moss-covered rocky trails:

Here is the view of the Moorish Castle as you approach – that is Sintra below the walls:

Wow! What an impressive approach!

Finally, you reach the entrance and you enter a classic world:

This large map gives you an idea of how expansive the castle is – and how steep the stairs on the mountain are!

“Have Fun Storming The Castle!”

Once you get inside, this castle is amazing! There are steep stairs from the top, down the side of the mountain and into the main courtyards – and expansive views of the Portugese countryside!

Here’s a video to give you an idea of just how steep it is:

And of course, here is the video that Alex filmed, and hers makes it look even steeper! It doesn’t seem to bother the happy tourists coming up the steps however:

Once you climb to the top of the parapet, you can see Portugal stretched out below…yes, I looked that word up and it means the fortified walkway that surrounds the top of the castle!

It was time for Alex to head up to the top of the guard tower and make sure we weren’t being invaded…

Of course, it was worth it for this shot from the top:

The castle hugs the mountainside and is very high up, as you can see when I took this picture of Alex on the steps:

She returned the favor by getting a shot of me as well:

Hey, you be a tourist your way – we’ll do ours! Let me reiterate again, however: this was steep and there was little to keep you from falling into the courtyard!

It was a good workout, especially navigating the other visitors on the moss-covered stones!

And if you look below, you see other classic mansions scattered on the hillside, and when you look back up the mountain you see this:

Yes, Pena Palace towered above, and that led me to film this look at the distance between them – and Alex told me to offer some very important advice for anyone going to see Pena Palace:

What a fun adventure! And while Alex posed at the top of the castle, I took a view looking up from inside:

And with that nonsense behind us, we decided to walk from the castle into town!

We walked down the rest of the two miles into central Sintra and took a train back to Lisbon – which took only 35 minutes!

As you saw, Castelo dos Mouros is located just below the famous Pena Palace, and that is a must-see as well!

As colorful as the outside was, the interior was fascinating!

Here’s a look:

You can see more of our tour by clicking on my story here:

Back in Lisbon, we were just beginning to explore this truly amazing city:

The mosaic tiles that line all of the central streets are beautiful – you can get mesmerized by them – take a look:

Oh, and did I say anything about the food?

We ate at the city’s most famous crustacean restaurant – where they serve a steak sandwich for dessert!

Click here to see more of this amazing meal!

This city was breathtaking – and the countryside is as well…and so clear – from the Moorish castle, you could actually see Lisbon’s famous “25 de Abril” bridge that crosses the Tagus river…

We crossed that bridge and ate at an amazing restaurant that was literally ON the water:

Dig in with us as we eat the incredible food at Ponto Final!

Click here for pics and videos!

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