Sintra's 8th-century hilltop fortress — 1,200-year-old battlements running along the ridge above the village. From the Royal Tower you can see Pena Palace one ridge over, the entire Sintra valley, and the Atlantic on the western horizon — the same view the sentries had before Portugal existed.
See ticket optionsMoorish Castle full site
€22
Ages 6–17 (with parent/guardian)
€19
Ages 65+ (photo ID required at entry)
€19
“Did the Moorish Castle at the 09:30 opening and Pena Palace at the 11:30 timed slot — walked between the two entrances along the Parques de Sintra forest path in about 25 minutes. The concierge sequenced both bookings for the same day so we didn't have to think about it.”
“Windy on the battlements, even in May. The concierge warned us to bring a jacket — good advice, half the tourists in t-shirts were freezing. 360-degree views once we got to the Royal Tower.”
“Took the 434 bus up from Sintra station rather than walking the trail from town — good call, the climb is no joke. Dog-friendly which surprised us (ours is a small one). Great-Wall-of-Portugal feeling wrapping the ridge.”
Audio guide · 5-minute
Hand-written, narrated by a heritage host, sent to every customer the day before their visit. Five minutes on Sintra's oldest fortification — built by 8th-9th century Moors, captured by Afonso Henriques in 1147, restored as a Romantic ruin by Ferdinand II in the 1840s.
Included free with every ticket. No app, no download — plays in any browser.
The Castelo dos Mouros — the Moorish Castle — is an 8th- to 9th-century hilltop fortress on the Sintra ridge, built under Umayyad rule to guard the western approaches to al-Ushbuna (the Arab name for Lisbon). Its 450 metres of battlements trace a narrow mountain crest at roughly 450 metres above sea level, looking across on one side to the Atlantic and on the other to the Tagus and the Lisbon plain.
The castle surrendered peacefully to Afonso Henriques, Portugal's first king, in 1147 — shortly after the Christian capture of Lisbon. Afonso granted a charter to thirty settlers in 1154. The castle lost military importance from the 15th century; the 1755 Lisbon earthquake left it partially ruined. In the 1840s King Ferdinand II began a Romantic-era restoration — consolidating the walls, restoring towers, reforesting the site — while he built Pena Palace on the adjacent peak. He treated the castle as a Romantic ruin to be seen from Pena, and the result is a deliberate visual pairing that shaped every subsequent image of Sintra.
UNESCO inscribed the Moorish Castle along with Pena, Sintra, Regaleira, and the surrounding mountains as the Cultural Landscape of Sintra in 1995 — the first European cultural landscape ever listed as a World Heritage Site. The monument today is managed by Parques de Sintra – Monte da Lua S.A., the state heritage company.
Moorish Castle Tickets is an independent concierge service. We facilitate ticket purchases from Parques de Sintra – Monte da Lua S.A., the official operator, on behalf of international visitors. We do not resell tickets — we provide a personalised booking and support service in your own language. Our service fee is included in the displayed price. For those who prefer to purchase directly, the official ticket site is parquesdesintra.pt.
Plan your visit
A month-by-month guide to weather, mist, light and crowds on the Sintra ridge — and why the Castelo dos Mouros rewards a different itinerary slot than Pena Palace.
Every realistic transport option from central Lisbon to the gates of the Castelo dos Mouros, with timings, transfer points, the bus 434 loop, and the Santa Maria walking trail from Sintra town.
The two monuments share a ridge, a UNESCO inscription and an operator, but they are very different experiences. Here's how to choose, or how to do both well in one day.
Full site access: outer and inner walls with the complete battlement walk, the Royal Tower keep, rectangular and circular flanking towers, the Romanesque Chapel of São Pedro de Canaferrim, the archaeological site outside the walls, the cistern, and the interpretive exhibition. Audio guides are a separate rental.
Minimum 1 hour to walk the battlement circuit and climb the Royal Tower. 1.5–2 hours to include the chapel, archaeological site, and take in the views without rushing.
Yes — both sit on the same ridge about 1.5–2 km apart (20–40 minutes on foot or one stop on bus 434). The Moorish Castle is open admission across opening hours, while Pena's interior tour is a fixed timed slot — so book Pena Palace first to lock the slot, then visit the Moorish Castle whenever suits your day. We can add a Pena Palace ticket to your booking after checkout if you'd like one sequenced into the same day.
Generally safe with normal care, but the stone steps are narrow and some battlement sections have low parapets with sheer drops outside. In wet or very windy weather Parques de Sintra may close the most exposed sections. Supervise children closely and wear grippy closed shoes.
Yes, especially paired with Pena. The Moorish Castle has the most panoramic views in Sintra — town, Pena, Atlantic, Cascais all visible from the Royal Tower — and the monument itself is atmospheric and low-key compared with the busier Pena Palace and Regaleira.
The Castelo dos Mouros, or Moorish Castle, is a ruined medieval hilltop fortress on the Sintra ridge in Portugal, roughly 25 kilometres north-west of Lisbon. It was built by the Moors during the 8th and 9th centuries, when the Iberian Peninsula was under Umayyad rule, to guard the approaches to Lisbon and the surrounding countryside. After the Christian conquest of Lisbon in 1147, the castle surrendered to Afonso Henriques, Portugal's first king, who granted its settlers a charter in 1154. The fortress later fell into ruin and was partly damaged by the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. In the 1840s King Ferdinand II began a Romantic-era restoration, consolidating the walls and reforesting the slopes. Today its battlements wind along the granite crest, offering panoramic views over the town of Sintra, the surrounding hills, and the Atlantic on the western horizon. It forms part of the UNESCO Cultural Landscape of Sintra, inscribed in 1995.
The Moorish Castle sits on the Sintra ridge, about 25 kilometres north-west of Lisbon, and most visitors reach it in two stages. From Lisbon, take the suburban train from Rossio station in the city centre to Sintra, a journey of about 40 minutes with frequent departures. From Sintra station, the simplest option is bus 434, a hop-on circular service that climbs the ridge and stops at the Moorish Castle before continuing to Pena Palace. The bus takes under fifteen minutes and runs roughly every fifteen to twenty minutes in high season. Walking up is also possible: the Santa Maria trail from the town centre climbs about 2.5 kilometres through forest and takes 30 to 45 minutes. Driving is discouraged, as there is no parking at the gate and the mountain roads are narrow and congested. Many visitors walk up by trail and ride bus 434 back down.