Sintra, where pushchairs go to retire

Pena Palace looks like a child was asked to design a castle and nobody had the heart to say no. It is yellow and red and blue, it has towers with onion tops and a gate guarded by a stone sea monster, and it sits on top of a hill so steep that I spent the last part of the climb negotiating with God.

How we did it

1. Train from Rossio, 40 minutes, every 20 minutes. Pip sat at the window and named every dog.
2. The 434 bus from Sintra station up the hill. It goes round the hairpins like a man who has somewhere to be.
3. The palace at opening time, 9.30, with timed tickets bought the night before.
4. The park below it, slowly, all afternoon. This is the good bit.
5. Back down on foot, through the woods, with a sleeping child on Teo and an ice cream on me.

The bit nobody tells you

The palace itself is small and the rooms are one way only, so the queue moves at the speed of the slowest person, who on our visit was an American gentleman photographing every teacup. The park, on the other hand, is enormous, nearly empty after lunch, and full of ferns taller than Teo, which Pip treated as a personal challenge.

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Pena Palace tickets