Portuguese royalty once retreated to the sanctum of Sintra: a mountainous landscape a stone's throw from Portugal's capital of Lisbon, partitioned by dense forest. The world's wealthy wanderers soon caught on, designing for themselves a romantic, fairytale-like landscape now referred to as the Portuguese Riviera.
Visitors tend to take day trips from Lisbon to visit the colourful Pena Palace, but there's so much more to see. Sintra-Cascais Natural Park extends to 145 km², encompassing mountains, valleys, forests, towns and miles of pristine Atlantic coastline.
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