What's on in Sintra, Portugal through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Portugal, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Camellia season

  15 Jan – 20 Mar · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The nineteenth-century estates were planted for winter, and the camellias at Monserrate and in the Pena park flower from January. Empty gardens, wet paths, everything in bloom.

Still on: Out of season on the hill (15 Nov – 28 Feb)

Busy — Carnival holidays in Portugal, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Camellia season (15 Jan – 20 Mar (usually)), Out of season on the hill (15 Nov – 28 Feb)

Peak crowds — Pena Palace timed entry, Easter holidays in Portugal

• Rule

  Pena Palace timed entry

  15 Mar – 31 OctBook earlyCrowded

  Entry to the palace interior is a half-hour slot bought in advance and enforced to the minute. From April to October the slots go days ahead, and the park ticket is not a way round it. Source ↗

Still on: Camellia season (15 Jan – 20 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Pena Palace timed entry, Easter holidays in Portugal

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Pena Palace timed entry (15 Mar – 31 Oct)

Busy — Pena Palace timed entry, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Mist on the serra

  15 May – 30 Sep · usuallyFog seasonRisk

  The ridge makes its own weather: Atlantic cloud catches on it and Pena can be inside a grey wall while Lisbon half an hour away is in full sun. Mornings are the worst of it.

Still on: Pena Palace timed entry (15 Mar – 31 Oct)

Peak crowds — Pena Palace timed entry, Summer holidays in Portugal

• Festival

  Festival de Sintra

  1–25 Jun · usuallyMajor festival

  Classical music and dance staged inside the palaces and gardens themselves for a couple of weeks in June, which is the one way to be in them after the day-trippers have gone. Source ↗

Still on: Pena Palace timed entry (15 Mar – 31 Oct), Mist on the serra (15 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Pena Palace timed entry, Summer holidays in Portugal

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Pena Palace timed entry (15 Mar – 31 Oct), Mist on the serra (15 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Pena Palace timed entry, August day-trippers

• Season

  August day-trippers

  1–31 AugSchool holidaysCrowded

  Portuguese holidays on top of the Lisbon coach trade. The 434 bus queue in the village runs past the station and the road up to Pena backs up; the 1.5 km walk is faster.

Still on: Pena Palace timed entry (15 Mar – 31 Oct), Mist on the serra (15 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Pena Palace timed entry, Summer holidays in Portugal

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Pena Palace timed entry (15 Mar – 31 Oct), Mist on the serra (15 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — Pena Palace timed entry, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Pena Palace timed entry (15 Mar – 31 Oct)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Out of season on the hill

  15 Nov – 28 FebOff-season shutdownClosures

  Shorter palace hours, no queue for anything, and a village you can actually walk through. The trade-off is Atlantic rain and a serra that spends a good share of the winter in cloud.

Busy — Christmas holidays in Portugal, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Out of season on the hill (15 Nov – 28 Feb)