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Roots Earth in Sintra: audio stories about 40 places

Roots Earth has audio stories about 40 places in Sintra, Portugal, in Europe. The Sintra stories are in all seven Roots Earth languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The app needs no account: open Sintra, pick a place on the city's map of places and play. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people.

The 40 places are listed below in the order the app shows them, and again further down with their coordinates. The lists were taken from the Roots Earth catalogue on 15 September 2026.

Published 16 September 2026. Markdown: sintra.md

The 40 places in Sintra with audio stories

In the order the app shows them.

  1. Pena Palace
  2. Quinta da Regaleira
  3. Castle of the Moors
  4. Sintra National Palace
  5. Monserrate Palace
  6. Cabo da Roca
  7. Convent of the Capuchos
  8. Seteais Palace
  9. Palace of Queluz
  10. Historic Centre of Sintra
  11. Sintra Mountains
  12. Sintra-Cascais Natural Park
  13. Sintra Tram
  14. Azenhas do Mar
  15. Colares
  16. Sanctuary of Peninha
  17. Adraga Beach
  18. Ramalhão Palace
  19. Biester Palace
  20. Quinta do Relógio
  21. Church of Santa Maria
  22. Lawrence's Hotel
  23. Sintra Railway Station
  24. Air Museum
  25. Anta de Agualva
  26. São Pedro de Penaferrim
  27. São Pedro Fair
  28. Casa Piriquita
  29. Sintra Municipal Market
  30. Liberdade Park
  31. Adega Regional de Colares
  32. Praia das Maçãs
  33. Magoito Beach
  34. Chapel of São Mamede de Janas
  35. Sport União Sintrense
  36. Queluz
  37. Agualva-Cacém
  38. Algueirão-Mem Martins
  39. Rio de Mouro
  40. Massamá

Is there an audio guide for Pena Palace?

Yes. Pena Palace has its audio stories in the Roots Earth app: a short introduction and a deeper story, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian.

It is place 1 of the 40 Sintra places in the app, at 38.788, -9.391. Every one of the other 39 places in the list above has the same two stories.

Roots Earth is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself.

How to use Roots Earth in Sintra

Open Roots Earth and choose Sintra. The city has its own map of places with all 40 of them on it. Tap the place you are standing in front of, or any other, and play its short introduction or its deeper story. You decide what to listen to and in which order.

You can listen in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection.

In full

All 40 places in Sintra, in the app's order, with their coordinates.

All 40 places in Sintra, with coordinates

Every place below has a short introduction and a deeper story in the Roots Earth app, in English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude) and the one line descriptions are the app's own catalogue values of 15 September 2026; a place without a line here has none that this page can print.

1. Pena Palace

Coordinates
38.788, -9.391
In one line
A vivid Romantic palace crowning the highest ridge above Sintra, built from 1842 for King Ferdinand II on the ruins of a Hieronymite monastery. Its red and yellow towers blend Neo-Gothic, Neo-Moorish and Neo-Manueline styles into one fairy-tale silhouette.

2. Quinta da Regaleira

Coordinates
38.79639, -9.39611
In one line
An enigmatic estate built between 1904 and 1910 for millionaire António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro by architect Luigi Manini. Its Neo-Manueline palace, hidden tunnels and spiralling Initiatic Well form a four-hectare landscape laced with esoteric and Masonic symbolism.

3. Castle of the Moors

Coordinates
38.793, -9.389
In one line
A ruined hilltop fortress raised under Islamic rule in the 8th and 9th centuries, its stone walls snaking along the granite ridge above Sintra.

4. Sintra National Palace

Coordinates
38.798, -9.391
In one line
The best-preserved medieval royal palace in Portugal, grown over centuries from Moorish origins through the reigns of John I and Manuel I. Its twin conical kitchen chimneys define Sintra's skyline, while inside lie tiled halls, painted ceilings and azulejo-lined rooms.

5. Monserrate Palace

Coordinates
38.794, -9.421
In one line
A Romantic palace built between 1863 and 1865 for English merchant Francis Cook, designed by James Knowles. Blending Gothic, Indian and Moorish styles around a central dome, it sits within celebrated botanical gardens of exotic plants gathered from across the world.

6. Cabo da Roca

Coordinates
38.781, -9.501
In one line
The westernmost point of mainland Europe, where granite cliffs over 100 metres high drop into the Atlantic. Marked by a stone monument and one of Portugal's oldest lighthouses, operational since 1772, it sits within the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park.

7. Convent of the Capuchos

Coordinates
38.784, -9.438
In one line
A tiny Franciscan hermitage founded in 1560, built into the granite boulders of the Sintra forest. Famous for cells lined with cork for insulation, it embodies extreme religious poverty, a stark counterpoint to Sintra's opulent palaces.

8. Seteais Palace

Coordinates
38.796, -9.396
In one line
A refined neoclassical palace built in the 1780s for a Dutch consul and later joined by a triumphal arch framing the view to Pena. Part of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, it now operates as a luxury hotel.

9. Palace of Queluz

Coordinates
38.7506, -9.2587
In one line
An ornate Rococo summer palace begun in 1747 for the Portuguese royal family, often called the Portuguese Versailles. Its gilded interiors, tile-lined canal and formal French gardens make it one of Europe's last great Rococo buildings.

10. Historic Centre of Sintra

Coordinates
38.7975, -9.3906
In one line
The cobbled medieval core of Sintra, gathered around the royal palace beneath wooded hills. Inscribed by UNESCO in 1995 as the first great centre of European Romantic architecture, it draws on layers of prehistoric, Moorish and royal history.

11. Sintra Mountains

Coordinates
38.787, -9.392
In one line
A granite range running about 16 kilometres from Sintra to the Atlantic at Cabo da Roca, rising to around 528 metres at Cruz Alta. Known to antiquity as the Mountain of the Moon, its misty microclimate shelters rich and partly endemic plant life.

12. Sintra-Cascais Natural Park

Coordinates
38.799, -9.442
In one line
A protected landscape of about 14,450 hectares spanning the Sintra Mountains, Atlantic cliffs, beaches and dunes. Designated in 1994, it includes Cabo da Roca, mainland Europe's westernmost point, and shelters rare habitats and historic villages.

13. Sintra Tram

Coordinates
38.8005, -9.3853
In one line
A heritage electric tramway opened in 1904, running on metre-gauge track from Sintra down to the coast at Praia das Maçãs. Restored vintage cars still carry passengers seasonally through orchards and villages toward the sea.

14. Azenhas do Mar

Coordinates
38.841, -9.46
In one line
A cliffside village of whitewashed houses cascading toward the Atlantic, with a natural seawater pool at the base of the cliff. Its name means watermills of the sea, recalling the mills that once ground grain along the coastal creek.

15. Colares

Coordinates
38.803, -9.45
In one line
A coastal village and historic wine region west of Sintra, famous for ungrafted vines grown in deep sand that survived the phylloxera plague. The rare Ramisco red and Malvasia white still age in its old cellars.

16. Sanctuary of Peninha

Coordinates
38.76833, -9.46028
In one line
A Baroque chapel perched on a granite peak high in the Sintra hills, completed in 1711 above the site of a reported Marian apparition. Its tiled interior and sweeping coastal panorama make it one of the area's most dramatic viewpoints.

17. Adraga Beach

Coordinates
38.80444, -9.485
In one line
A wild Atlantic cove near Almoçageme in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, ringed by dark cliffs, sea caves and rock stacks. Its golden sand and dramatic setting have drawn praise from international travel writers.

18. Ramalhão Palace

Coordinates
38.78591, -9.3731
In one line
A long Neoclassical palace on the old Lisbon road into Sintra, grown from a 15th-century farm. Best known as the residence and place of exile of Queen Carlota Joaquina in the early 19th century.

19. Biester Palace

Coordinates
38.7946, -9.3929
In one line
A Romantic neo-Gothic villa beside Quinta da Regaleira, conceived in 1880 by Lisbon impresario Ernesto Biester and designed by José Luís Monteiro. Long private, it opened to visitors in 2022 and once served as a film set for Roman Polanski.

20. Quinta do Relógio

Coordinates
38.79634, -9.39529
In one line
A 19th-century Romantic palace in Sintra built in Moorish Revival style, with horseshoe arches and an Arabic inscription over its door. Part of the UNESCO cultural landscape, it was named for a long-vanished clock tower.

21. Church of Santa Maria

Coordinates
38.79487, -9.38342
In one line
A medieval parish church in Sintra's old town, founded in the late 12th century after the Christian conquest. Its three stepped naves and Gothic portal mark the transition from Romanesque, and it has been a national monument since 1922.

22. Lawrence's Hotel

Coordinates
38.7956, -9.3937
In one line
A historic Sintra inn opened in 1764 and reputedly the oldest still-functioning hotel on the Iberian Peninsula. Lord Byron stayed here in 1809, and its terraced rooms have hosted writers and statesmen across more than two centuries.

23. Sintra Railway Station

Coordinates
38.799, -9.386
In one line
The terminus of the Sintra Line, opened in 1887 and reached from Lisbon's Rossio station in around 40 minutes. Its azulejo-lined interior and revival styling make it a decorative gateway to the town's UNESCO-listed landscape.

24. Air Museum

Coordinates
38.82972, -9.33944
In one line
Portugal's national aviation museum, run by the Air Force and housed at Sintra Air Base since 2009. Its hangars display dozens of aircraft, from early flying machines and replicas to fighters of the jet age, tracing a century of Portuguese flight.

25. Anta de Agualva

Coordinates
38.77333, -9.28694
In one line
A Neolithic dolmen built around 3250 BC, now standing within a small park in suburban Agualva-Cacém. Seven great upright stones once formed its burial chamber, making it one of the oldest human monuments in the Sintra area.

26. São Pedro de Penaferrim

Coordinates
38.769, -9.4
In one line
A historic parish on the slopes above Sintra, named for Saint Peter and home to many of the area's great monuments. Once a civil parish in its own right, it merged into a united Sintra parish in 2013, but keeps its distinct village identity.

27. São Pedro Fair

Coordinates
38.7926, -9.3817
In one line
A traditional country fair held twice monthly in São Pedro de Sintra, with roots said to reach back to the twelfth century. Stalls fill the square with pottery, antiques, regional produce, smoked meats and pastries, drawing locals and visitors alike.

28. Casa Piriquita

Coordinates
38.7972, -9.3902
In one line
A celebrated family pastry shop in the old town of Sintra, founded in 1862 and famous for its travesseiros and queijadas. Now in its fifth generation, it guards a secret recipe and remains a near-obligatory stop for anyone visiting the town.

29. Sintra Municipal Market

Coordinates
38.8002, -9.3864
In one line
Sintra's covered municipal market sits on the Volta do Duche, the shaded path between station and old town. Open mornings for fresh produce, fish and cheese, it is where local cooks shop while tourists stream past above.

30. Liberdade Park

Coordinates
38.7962, -9.3876
In one line
A wooded public park climbing the slope below Sintra's old town, opened in 1937 to give locals a green space of their own. Steep, shaded paths wind past dozens of tree species, a chapel and play areas, away from the tourist crowds above.

31. Adega Regional de Colares

Coordinates
38.7991, -9.4466
In one line
Portugal's oldest wine cooperative, founded in 1931 in the village of Colares near Sintra. Its cellars age the rare Ramisco reds grown in coastal sand, from ungrafted vines that survived the phylloxera plague that destroyed most of Europe's vineyards.

32. Praia das Maçãs

Coordinates
38.8219, -9.4692
In one line
A wide Atlantic beach at the mouth of the Colares river, west of Sintra. A seaside resort since the late 19th century, it is reached by the heritage tram from Sintra and known for its sand, seawater pools and shallow stream where children paddle.

33. Magoito Beach

Coordinates
38.8442, -9.4477
In one line
A wild Atlantic beach of golden sand below high cliffs, north-west of Sintra in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. It is known for a rare consolidated dune around 10,000 years old and waters reputed to be among the most iodine-rich in Europe.

34. Chapel of São Mamede de Janas

Coordinates
38.8281, -9.4316
In one line
A rare circular chapel near Sintra, probably built in the late 16th century on an ancient sacred site. Dedicated to Saint Mamede, protector of animals, it still hosts an August festival in which cattle are led three times around the temple.

35. Sport União Sintrense

Coordinates
38.8009, -9.3789
In one line
Sintra's historic football club, founded in 1911 and playing at its own ground. For more than a century it has carried the town's name through the lower divisions of Portuguese football, the local club beneath the tourist Sintra.

36. Queluz

Coordinates
38.75, -9.25
In one line
A busy town between Lisbon and Sintra, grown from royal hunting country around the rococo Queluz National Palace into a dense commuter suburb. Its parish dates to 1925, and today tens of thousands live within a few square kilometres.

37. Agualva-Cacém

Coordinates
38.76778, -9.29944
In one line
A large residential city in Sintra municipality, formed from four parishes and centred on a railway station dating to 1887. Once farmland, it grew rapidly with Lisbon's expansion and was elevated to city status in 2001.

38. Algueirão-Mem Martins

Coordinates
38.8, -9.35
In one line
One of the most populous towns in Sintra municipality, a dense residential settlement on the railway line to the hills. Its name recalls Moorish caves and a medieval landowner, though it grew into a modern commuter town only in the twentieth century.

39. Rio de Mouro

Coordinates
38.784, -9.322
In one line
A populous town and parish in Sintra municipality, roughly fifteen kilometres from Lisbon. Its name means river of the Moor, and its sixteenth-century church survives among the apartment blocks of a town that grew rapidly with the capital's expansion.

40. Massamá

Coordinates
38.757, -9.275
In one line
A densely built residential area between Sintra and Lisbon, raised to city status with neighbouring Monte Abraão in 1997. Its name comes from a Mozarabic word for good water, and it ranks among the most crowded parishes in the municipality.

Roots Earth in short

Roots Earth has audio stories about 5,665 places in 130 cities, 25 countries and 6 regions, written by local people.

  • No account
  • Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection
  • Audio stories in English and German in every city, and in Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch and Albanian in 126 of the 130 cities

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