Sintra is the place we spent the least amount of time and, perhaps, the one that left the most lasting impression. We’ve been home nearly two weeks, now, and Sona has mentioned it almost every single day since.

To be honest, Sintra wasn’t on our radar when we landed in Portugal. It wasn’t until were searching for things to do while in Lisbon that we stumbled upon (like a million) recommendations to do a day trip to Sintra. Then, once we read about it once, everyone started mentioning it: waiters, Uber drivers. “Are you going to visit Sintra?” was a question we were asked at least a half a dozen times. So, we did.

Because we wanted good weather, we saved our visit to Sintra until the last day of our vacation. I spent hours researching how to get there, what we should do once there, and all sorts of little details, as the historic town is enchanting, but it’s also a little trick to get around. It’s full of small, winding one-way streets, and transportation can be daunting.

We took the CP train to Sintra from the Rossio train station, which is in central Lisbon and was only a 5 minute walk from our AirBnB. Because it’s a local train, you can’t buy tickets ahead of time. It runs every 50 minutes or so. We got there, expecting to hop on, and found a line of around 150 people waiting to buy tickets to Sintra. (Apparently, this is always the case, as Sintra is a UNESCO world heritage site and a frequent stop for tourists.) In hindsight, we should’ve gotten to the station early in the morning, which would have helped us to avoid the crowds. Still, after a 30 min wait, we got our inexpensive tickets and boarded the train 15 minutes before it departed. It was PACKED; I had to stand the whole trip.

It’s about a 40 minute ride to Sintra, which is the last stop on the train line. You’ll know when you’re there because every other passenger will get off the train with you. If you can, try to sit near the front of the train, as you have to scan your ticket to leave the station at Sintra, and the que was pretty long and hectic.

Once you get out of the station, you will be bombarded by tuk tuks and tour guides, asking if you want to do a guided tour. We opted not to. Instead, we walked 5 minutes and had coffee and lunch at Saudade, which is a cafe dating back to the 1800s and, quite possibly, the sweetest place I ever did see. We ate pastries and galao, which is a Portugese latte, and ordered delicious sandwiches to pack away for our day, which were only a couple dollars each. I could have sat there all day, and it was surprisingly peaceful.

After that, we hopped in our first Uber of the day and headed to Quinta de Regaleira. It’s a private estate turned park, complete with secret grottos, mossy caves, waterfalls, tiny castles, chapels, fountains, and more charm than you’ve ever seen. It’s like stepping into a fairytale, which is what everyone told us about Sintra, and they were right. We bought our tickets at the entrance and got in quickly.

It took us all of 5 minutes to realize that we’d made a really grave mistake in only spending one day in Sintra. The truth is, we could’ve spent one day at any of the attractions we visited in Sintra (Quinta la Regaleira, Pena Palace, the village), and we still would have missed most of what the town has to offer. I don’t think we’ve ever visited a place and left so certain that we must return. Sona has been plotting our romantic getaway to Sintra since the second we got on the train back to Lisbon.

But, back to the gardens, they were MAJESTIC, and it’s a great place for kids. You just wander and wander, finding secret spots and hidden tunnels, as there isn’t a linear pathway through the grounds. We spent a couple of hours and didn’t see half of it, but we left, regrettably, because we knew we wanted to see Pena Palace, which was our next stop.

We got another Uber to Pena, but we realized we should’ve gone there first, as may of the attractions are along a 16-mile, one-way loop, and we ended up having to go back around the entire circle just to get to Pena. Still, it was a beautiful drive.

Folks had warned us that, to get to Pena, you’d have to drive up a very steep hill (re: mountain). Then, once you get through the gates, we’d have to walk and even steeper hill, which takes about 15 minutes, to access the palace. I was a little worried about that trek, as I’m not the most fit person on the planet, and I was prepared to pay any amount of money to get a tram or a tuktuk up to the top. However, after entering the gates (tip: purchase your Pena Palace tickets online the night before to avoid lines), Sona convinced me to make a go of it, and we did.

A lot of sweating and complaining and heavy breathing later, we made it to the top. Finn ran the whole way, of course, and didn’t bat an eye. When the trees cleared and we saw what awaited us–a brightly colored, ornate palace that rivals the stuff of dreams–we knew the walk had been worth it.

This is where I am totally honest with you and admit that, although our day in Sintra was magical, Finn struggled quite a bit. It was our last day of vacation. He was tired. We had to forgo nap to do the day trip, and he wasn’t in the best spirits. So, while we were surrounded by some of the most beautiful vistas we’d ever seen, we spent a lot of time bribing our cranky threenager with Jolly Ranchers just to get him through the day. By the time we got to the palace, he was on the verge of a breakdown, and it did get in the way of our enjoying it as much as we should’ve. One of the many reasons we want to go back.

Still, we drug him along, Jolly Ranchers as bait, and made our best efforts to experience as much of the palace as possible. Like the gardens earlier, it was painfully clear that we’d only be able to scrape the surface, as it was already early evening, and we had to get the train back to Lisbon before nightfall.

What can I say about Pena Palace that will make you understand how breathtakingly beautiful and surreal it was? Probably nothing. Instead, I’ll just post a bunch of pictures and implore you to get yourself to Sintra–maybe without a tired 3 year old–as quickly as possible.

We’d intended to make it to the historic village and wander through the little town, but time didn’t allow for it. We were pretty bummed that the day slipped away so quickly, and that we’d have to miss the town, but that is just more motivation to make it back there again–and soon.

In the meantime, here are some photos, which don’t even begin to tell the full story of that wonderful, wander-full place.

After a week in Alvor, we hopped on the train from Portimao to Lisbon, which takes 3-4 hours and has one quick transfer (which, admittedly, was a bit stressful with all of our heavy luggage and the kiddos). The train ride itself was actually really restful, and the trains in Portugal were, like much of Europe, clean, quick, and reliable.

We got to Lisbon at around noon on a Saturday, and our AirBnB host messaged us to let us know that our apartment was ready early, which was a relief, as Finn was more than ready for a nap, as were we all. We had to leave Alvor pretty early, and we were exhausted.

We checked into what is likely the most kid-friendly, well-run AirBnB in the world, which was right on the border of both the Chiado and Barrio Alto neighborhoods of Lisbon; it ended up being the perfect location, despite the fact that we were on the 3rd floor of a very narrow and steep walk-up.

In Lisbon, we had a relatively short list of must-sees (and a relatively long list of must-eats). By then, it was clear that Finn was struggling a bit with the time change and the schedule shift. So, we really wanted to make it easy for ourselves. Our daily plans went something like this: get up, eat pastries, wander, eat snacks, wander, take a nap, wander, eat dinner, eat gelato. To be honest, that’s pretty much the perfect itinerary with kiddos, as the more rigid the schedule and the more you try to pack in, the more likely everyone is going to be cranky.

As it turned out, we were within easy walking distance of a lot of the restaurants we wanted to try and places we wanted to see and, when we needed to venture a bit further, Ubers were plentiful. Just like in Alvor, we relied on them at least a couple of times a day, especially since walking in Lisbon is a bit tricky. It’s known as the “city of seven hills”–and with good reason. It’s like San Francisco on steroids. There are steep hills, staircases with 500+ stairs, very small cobblestone sidewalks (which are slippery, btw), and windy streets everywhere. Whereas Portugal was one of the most kid-friendly places we’ve been, Lisbon is probably the least stroller-friendly city on the planet. Luckily, Finn is a great walker, and Sona wore Elias everywhere in the Ergo.

But as promised, Lisbon–and the whole country–were extremely kid/baby-friendly. If you have a little one, you get to go to the front of the line pretty much anywhere: grocery stores, security lines at airports, museums, etc. And every restaurant we went to–no matter how nice–had families with small children. It just seemed to be a non-issue, which was really nice.

Lisbon is a photographer’s dream and, thusly, I fell in love. It reminded us a lot of Barcelona, which is our other favorite city in the world. It’s old and new–weathered and immaculately beautiful. There’s colorful tile and stucco and charm around every single corner, and each neighborhood has it’s own personality.

It’s also a fantastic city to eat in. The restaurants and cafes and bakeries are plentiful, as are the food halls. We loved grabbing small bites and heading outside to eat in a park or on a bench somewhere. Finn loved the french fries and all of the walking and the trolleys and the tuk tuk and the GELATO–good lord, the gelato. Plus, wine is CHEAP.

Sona and I loved Lisbon so much–and Sintra, which I’ll post about next–that we’re already plotting a return visit. In the meantime, here’s some photos from our time in the city, along with some recommendations.

  

Our Lisbon Faves and Recommendations:

• early in your visit, take a tuk tuk tour with Tuk Tuk Tiejo
• visit the LX Factory on one of their outdoor market days
• look at the trolleys, but avoid riding them–they are SO busy
• visit the TimeOut Market, but try to go during off-hours
• go see the Tower of Belem and get the famous custard tarts at Pasteis de Belem
• eat at Oficio and Bairro de Avillez and Tartine
• get the AYCE tapas at Bairrices; save room for dessert
• get gelato at Santini and Sorbettino (we preferred the latter)
• Get lunch at Campo de Ourique market and eat it at Jardim da Estrela
• explore Barrio Alto (during the day with kids and at night with adults)
• get lost in Alfama (but bring your walking shoes)

(I should also note that Lisbon has a lot of more kid-centric stuff to do, including the best aquarium in Europe and a great zoo. However, since we live in Chicago and have access to that stuff all of the time, we try to use vacations as an opportunity to do some things we don’t get to do at home. So, for this trip, we didn’t hit up those spots, but they come highly recommended.)

As soon as we knew Sona was pregnant, we begin planning a maternity leave trip. Not only did we have a lot of airline miles to use before they expired, but we also knew that–since Elias is most certainly our last baby–we likely wouldn’t have another extended period of time off again for a long, long time.

So, we started thinking about destinations. Since we travel to the Caribbean a lot, and that doesn’t necessarily feel special, we decided early on to go to Europe, instead, however naive that decision was. When we did some crowd-sourcing, asking about European places that are particularly kid-friendly, folks resoundingly recommended Spain and Portugal. We’ve been to–and love–the former; so, we set our sights on the latter.

While Sona and I could spend weeks wandering through European cities, sitting at cafes and sipping coffee or wine, we knew that our kiddos would require a slower pace and some built-in entertainment that doesn’t necessarily come in a carafe. That led us to Algarve, Portugal’s photo-ready coast. We figured that if we split our time between a beach town and a city, Finn would have plenty to do, and we’d have an excuse to relax by the water for half of the trip.

We landed on Alvor when searching for vacation rentals, as many of the places we liked were in Prainha Village, the largest collection of rentals in Alvor. PV is a resort-like complex, which is itself the size of a small town, and though we typically steer clear of resorts, having the convenience of many pools, restaurants, a grocery store, and fabulous beaches within walking distance was appealing, as we already knew we’d be challenged by traveling so far with the kiddos.

While PV’s prime was likely a couple of decades ago, we still really loved the property. It’s the perfect place for a family, and it was easy. We’re not always the kind of travelers that make decisions for the sake of ease, but again, our goal this trip was to have reasonable expectations and to try, as much as possible, to set ourselves up for a successful, semi-restful time.

Alvor ended up being the perfect home base. We flew into Faro, which was a 45 minute ride away from the little town. Alvor was small and quiet, especially since we missed busy season by a month or so. We could isolate ourselves in our little resort area–where we were frequently the only ones around–or we could take a taxi into town for about $6, which we did most evenings for dinner. (We opted not to rent cars on the trip, either, because we didn’t want to deal with car seats or the stress of driving in a new country. Taxis and Ubers were plentiful, cheap, clean, and friendly. We took them everywhere.)

Our days in Alvor were long and lazy–and the week went by way too fast. Each morning, I went downstairs to the little market where we could buy hot croissants, which we ate on our balcony before heading to the beach or the pool. We played most of the day, soaking up the sun and ignoring nap time more than we should’ve (that caught up to us), and then we’d head into town for a seafood dinner and gelato and an evening stroll through the small fishing town of Alvor.

Though there are dozens of beaches in the Algarve, the little coves at Prainha Village, which are part of Tres Irmaos beach, were the most special we saw. They are private and spectacular and completely disappear at high tide, which means their character changes throughout the day. We finally made it to low tide on our last day at the beach, and it was a totally new landscape: tide pools, exposed rocks, shells galore.  From our villa, we were within easy (by “easy” I mean you have to go up and down about 1,000 stairs) walking distance to 3 or 4 great beaches, ranging from rocky coves to wide, sandy stretches.

We also took one day trip to Lagos, which is one of the largest towns in the Algarve, and sampled pastries and even more gelato and explored the city squares, trying to avoid the touristy spots. We also hit up the old fort and had an Uber take us on a tour of the beaches around Lagos, which are in and of themselves worth a trip. Praia de Camilo is particularly stunning and considered one of Portugal’s best beaches–with good reason. We were glad to have experienced Lagos, which has a good deal of charm if you wander away from the tourist shops, but we were happy to retreat back to the little village of Alvor, where we spent a full week before taking the train to Lisbon.

 

 

Our Algarve Faves and Recommendations:

• AirBnBs are plentiful and CHEAP; Prainha Village has a ton
• eat at A Lota in Alvor and get the fresh seafood platter
• get lots of gelato at both Tutti and Buono Gelato (Alvor)
• visit Tres Irmaos beach during low tide
• explore Lagos, but stay somewhere smaller
• get pastries at Confeitaria D’alvor (Alvor) and Padaria Central (Lagos)
• drink as much Algarve orange juice as you can find, and you’ll find a lot
• visit the Atlantic pool, which has a spectacular view, at Prainha Village, even if you aren’t staying there
• rent a car or hire an Uber to do a beach tour; make sure you see Praia do Camilo
• visit in late September to avoid the crowds but still take full advantage of warm beach weather
• eat at Gastropub 13 in Alvor
• make reservations for dinners, even when you think the season is slow