What is the Sintra self-guided walking tour?
The Sintra self-guided walking tour is a walk through Sintra that you take on your own, with audio narration on your phone instead of a guide. It takes about 3 hours in all: 30 minutes of walking over 2.2 km, and 10 stops where the narration takes over. It starts where the Lisbon trains stop, so you can step off the platform and begin.
At the station the narration goes back to 1887, when the line from Lisbon reached Sintra. The Town Hall shows off the neo-Manueline style with a spire of coloured tiles, and at the National Palace you hear how kings lived here until 1910 and why two white kitchen chimneys became the town's symbol. São Martinho tells of the 1755 earthquake, and Fonte dos Pisões of the water-driven mills that once fulled woollen cloth.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 30 min · 2.2 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
What you do along the way
Hear the stories
Every stop has its own audio chapter with history, local legends and fun facts, read aloud or shown as text.
Find the way
Google Maps shows the way to the next stop: 2.2 km and about 30 minutes on foot in total.
Take a break
Nothing runs on a timetable. Close the app for a meal or a museum and open it again whenever you like, even the next day.
Local tips
Along the way you get tips for food and shops near the route. If another starting point suits you better, change it in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. 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.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walking tour is for
First time in Sintra
One walk links the main sights of the centre and explains what you are looking at.
Travellers who skip group tours
No group to keep up with and no meeting point: stay where something interests you and move on when you are ready.
A short stay
About 3 hours covers the centre, so the rest of the day stays free.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- 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.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: the station, the Town Hall, the National Palace, Fonte dos Pisões
10 stops · about 30 min walking · start: Sintra Train Station · finish: Pisões Waterfall
The walk sets off from Sintra Train Station and passes the Town Hall and the sculpture of a woman with her baby before taking the shaded paths of Parque da Liberdade along the Volta do Duche. At the edge of the historic centre come Palácio Valenças and the National Palace, then the Church of São Martinho and the Carlos França marker. The last stretch leads to Fonte dos Pisões and the small waterfall beside it. You can change the start and the order in the app, and none of the stops needs a ticket.
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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