Let’s allgo to... SINTRA
When Frankie – starring Isabelle Huppert and Marisa Tomei – lands on screens this month, it’s not only the acting everyone’s going to be talking about, but the jaw-slackening location of Sintra. This moving drama of a dying woman gathering her family together is set in Portugal’s fairy-tale, mountain-top town, 19 miles west of Lisbon. Loved for its palaces and enchanted forests, Lord Byron dubbed Sintra as ‘a glorious Eden’, and you’ll see why. WHAT TO DO You need three days to do it properly, but high points include: the 19th-century Pena Palace, the Quinta da Regaleira estate, set in parkland filled with miniature lakes, and medieval Castelo dos Mouros. Avoid other tourists by going midweek in spring or autumn, and venture to Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, which has a coastline peppered with wild beaches. Check out Praia da Adraga, dramatic Praia da Ursa and windswept Praia do Guincho, a hotspot for surfers. Don’t miss Cabo da Roca, continental Europe’s westernmost point, where sheer cliffs tower 1OOm above the Atlantic. WHERE TO STAY Airbnb’s top picks: Domus Quieta four-bed villa, from £176 a night; Caza do Sino, from £95 a night, sleeps two; J&T nine-bed residence, from £66 a night. Or drive 25 minutes to Cascais, where the Albatroz Hotel’s Villa Cascais has doubles from £14O B&B, thealbatrozcollection.com
“LORD BYRON DUBBED SINTRA AS A ‘GLORIOUS EDEN’”