We were on a day trip from Lisbon to Sintra. We started at the Palace of Pena (see my other review) and walked down the mountain from there, stopping off at the Moorish Castle on our way past.
I had wanted to visit this castle because of its Moorish origin as I had not been to a castle designed by the Moors before, but to be honest I was a little disappointed. Perhaps it’s just that I was already tired from walking around Pena and my dodgy knees weren’t up to climbing the steep steps to climb to reach the castle walls, so I just had a short walk around the lower level areas. These were rather small and while pleasant I didn’t feel they justified the cost of admission: the gardens and outer circle of walls immediately below the castle were just as nice and free to access.
Speaking of which, the website advertises that wheelchair users can access the castle walls via a lifting platform, but I didn’t see this and not actually being a wheelchair user I didn’t go looking for it. The walk to the castle itself is steep in places but they do have automated traction equipment – basically a machine which you hold in front of your wheelchair and which pulls you up the ramps – so in theory at least the castle is accessible.
The castle is known for its views over the surrounding countryside. Having already been to Pena which is further up the mountain I doubt if they could be any better than those, and the views from the outer walls were pretty good anyway.
As with other attractions at Sintra, there’s no reduction for disabled visitors or their carers. There’s a 10% reduction for people over 65. Opening hours at this time of the year are long (9:30-8:00) and it’s open all year.
My advice: if you have time or are particularly interested it’s a nice place to visit. If you’re short of time there are lots of other places to visit in Sintra, and if you’re staying in Lisbon there’s a really nice Moorish Castle there as well so I’d stick to Sintra’s more unique attractions.
