Thinking of living in Sintra

Mar 22, 2025

Hi, I am new to the forum and am making my first scouting trip to Portugal next week with my husband.
We are staying in Lisbon during our trip but will be taking daytrips around the area to see what we like. I have a job opportunity just outside of Sintra and have found many affordable rentals in Sintra.
Can anyone offer advice or perspective on what it is like to live in Sintra? I understand that the weather is nice although the mornings can be misty. The downtown area is beautiful and walkable which is important to us, but I also understand that during the peak months it can be overwhelmed with tourists.
I'm also open to any suggestions for towns to live just outside of Sintra that are walkable or bike-friendly but will not create a long commute to my job opportunity. We would like to live somewhere that is relatively quiet in the evenings/overnights, and is walkable or bikeable to most amenities, as we do not plan on buying a car.
Thank you for any help you can give!

Mariza · Mar 22, 2025

I've never lived in Sintra but have visited many times and lived halfway on the "Linha de Sintra" which is the train line between Lisbon and Sintra, 26 km through suburbia sprawl, densely built ugly urban areas without much character, 45 minutes to 1 hour journey from end to end, Lisboa - Sintra.
It used to be called a "dormitory" as most folks work in Lisbon.
The center of Sintra is small, with old world charm & architecture and clogged with tourists that come to see the palaces, but I don't know how easy it is to get a loaf of bread and milk (or any such basics) if you were to live there.
The portuguese love their cars and the supermarkets tend to be outside town centers, but there will be buses.
When people say they live in Sintra, it usually means in a new urban area close to Sintra, not the town center itself. Same with businesses: they could be miles away.
If you stay close to any of the train stations, you won't need a car to come & go to Lisbon, etc.
There's a monthly travel card e Navegante for 40 Euros that will cover all of Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais, Caparica, Setubal, Azambuja, etc. All the beaches and all the beach bars...
In Sintra the weahter is always humid: nice & cool in hot summers, but... can be a bit miserable in long drizzly winters (microclimate).
If you choose to stay away from Sintra (and I would), look around Agualva-Cacem and towards Lisbon, you won't be too far from Sintra (just 20 minutes by train) and will have a drier sunnier weather than Sintra.
Agualva - Cacem station interconnects with another train line, so you can go to Rossio in downtown Lisbon, or to Sete Rios, Entrecampos, Areeiro, the airport, or to Oriente, etc.

Linha de Sintra: Transporte Público em Sintra, Portugal

Note: In the link above, check the Sintra train line, as well as direct buses from Sintra to Cascais, Estoril, Oeiras, and buses around town , and to the beaches of Praia Grande, Azenhas do Mar.
If you don't have a monthly e Navegante, I think you can buy a 1 day travel card or tourist e, and go anywhere you like.

Enjoy!

Thinking of living in Sintra

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