What is the Sintra outdoor escape game?
Sintra's outdoor escape game takes the logic of an escape room out of the room and into the town's streets and monuments. Your phone leads the way, and at each of the 10 stops you crack a puzzle by reading the scene around you. The route runs about 2 hours, with 30 minutes of walking over 2.5 km, and you set the pace.
The puzzles hang on places such as the neo-Manueline town hall, the National Palace with its two white chimneys, and the fountain and waterfall of Pisões. Each puzzle stands alone, so no plot links the stops together. If you get stuck, three levels of hints are available, and no clock ticks in the background.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 30 min · 2.5 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
What you do on the escape game
Deduce
Study the surroundings at each stop and reason your way to the answer. You need no prior knowledge of the town.
Spot the detail
Clues hide in small things such as tiles, carvings or the layout of a square.
Follow the map
Google Maps guides you from stop to stop across about 2.5 km and 30 minutes of walking.
Set your pace
No timer runs. Ask for a hint when you need one, take a break, and pick up again later or on another day.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who it suits
Friends
Everyone in the group can offer a theory, and nobody has to know Sintra beforehand.
Couples
A shared challenge that gives you something to talk through between palaces and parks.
Team building
Colleagues share the thinking, and each person follows the route on their own phone.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- Best started in daylight, so you can see the details the puzzles ask about.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
Puzzle route: from Sintra Train Station to the Pisões Waterfall
10 stops · about 30 min walking · start: Sintra Train Station · finish: Pisões Waterfall
The game begins at Sintra Train Station in the Estefânia district and ends at the Pisões Waterfall, with eight stops in between: the Sintra Town Hall, the sculpture Mulher com Bebé ao Colo, Parque da Liberdade, Palácio Valenças, the Sintra National Palace, the Church of São Martinho, the Marco Histórico Carlos França and the Fonte dos Pisões. Daylight suits this outdoor game best, since rain or strong wind make the walk hard going. Google Maps handles the navigation between stops, the app lets you change the order, and the puzzles need no entry tickets.
Open the route map ↗
1Sintra Train StationStart
Trains from Lisbon's Rossio station end here, at the terminus of the Sintra line, which opened in 1887. The station lies in the Estefânia district, a short walk from the historic centre, and for most visitors arriving by train it is the gateway to the town and its wooded hills.
2Sintra Town Hall
Sintra's town hall was built in the early 20th century in neo-Manueline style, a revival of the richly carved Portuguese late Gothic of King Manuel I's time. Its tall tower ends in a pointed spire covered with coloured tiles, which is easy to spot from afar.
3Mulher com Bebé ao Colo (Woman with a Baby)
This sculpture shows a mother holding her baby in her arms, just as its Portuguese name says. It stands on the way from the town hall towards the historic centre, and its calm, tender subject is a quiet contrast to the palaces on the hills above.
4Parque da Liberdade
Liberdade Park spreads over the hillside along the Volta do Duche, the road that links the Estefânia district with the historic centre. Shady paths, tall trees and benches make it a green pause on the walk, with views up towards the Serra de Sintra.
5Palácio Valenças
Palácio Valenças is a former noble residence at the entrance to Sintra's historic centre, close to the National Palace. Today it belongs to the municipality and is used for cultural purposes, so its elegant façade is a reminder of the many aristocratic families who built houses in Sintra.
6Sintra National Palace
This palace was a residence of the Portuguese kings from the Middle Ages until the end of the monarchy in 1910, and much of it dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. Its two huge white conical chimneys, which belong to the kitchen, have become the symbol of Sintra.
7Church of São Martinho
The Church of São Martinho is the parish church of Sintra's historic centre and has medieval origins. It was badly damaged in the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and rebuilt afterwards, so much of what you see today dates from the second half of the 18th century.
8Marco Histórico Carlos França
This commemorative marker bears the name of Carlos França and recalls a piece of Sintra's local history. It is one of the smaller sights on the route, so take a moment to read its inscription.
9Fonte dos Pisões
Sintra is known for its many fountains, fed by springs that come down from the green hills, and Fonte dos Pisões is one of them. Its name recalls the pisões, water-powered fulling mills that were once used to treat woollen cloth.
10Pisões WaterfallFinish
Close to the fountain, water from the wooded Serra de Sintra tumbles over the rocks in a small waterfall. The damp, mild climate of the hills keeps the plants here lush and green, which is why Sintra has long been a cool summer retreat from Lisbon.
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