Adult
Moorish Castle full site
€22
- Full battlement walk · outer and inner walls, Royal Tower
- Romanesque chapel + archaeological site
- Skip-the-line priority entry
Walk the battlements of the Moorish Castle
Skip-the-line tickets to Sintra's 8th-century hilltop fortress — two concentric walls, the Royal Tower, and panoramic views across Sintra, Pena, and the Atlantic.
See ticket options- UNESCO Cultural Landscape of Sintra, 1995
- 8th–9th c. Umayyad Moorish hilltop fortress
- 450 m of battlements across the Sintra ridge
- 1147 Surrendered to Afonso Henriques
Choose your ticket
Youth / Senior
Ages 6–17 or 65+
€19
- Full battlement walk · outer and inner walls, Royal Tower
- Romanesque chapel + archaeological site
- Valid with photo ID at entry (birth year / senior ID)
Sintra Mountain Pass
Moorish Castle + Pena Palace · 1 adult
€62 €52 Save €10
- Same-day entry to both ridge-top monuments
- Moorish Castle battlements + Pena Palace timed slot
- Best value — cheaper than buying each separately
Brighton, UK
“Did the Moorish Castle at the 09:30 opening and Pena at 11:30 — walked between the two entrances along the Parques de Sintra forest path in about 25 minutes. The combo ticket saved us queueing twice.”
Tokyo, Japan
“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.”
Barcelona, Spain
“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.”
- Refund if we can't deliver Full money back if your slot can't be secured
- Real humans, not bots English-speaking concierge, not AI
- Pay in your local currency Same price at checkout · no FX surprise
- No hidden fees Total shown upfront · what you see is what you pay
About Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle)
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.
Practical information
- Opening hours
- Daily 09:30–18:00 · last ticket and last admission 17:30. Ticket office closes for lunch 12:00–13:00 (automatic machines remain available). Confirm current holiday hours on parquesdesintra.pt.
- Address
- Castelo dos Mouros, 2710-405 Sintra, Portugal
- Getting there from Sintra station
- Tourist bus 434 (Scotturb 'Circuito da Pena') climbs the ridge in under 15 minutes and serves both the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace on the same loop. A 24-hour hop-on/hop-off ticket covers both stops. Walking: about 3.5 km uphill through forest via the Santa Maria or Seteais trails — roughly 45–60 minutes with ~400 m of climb.
- From Lisbon
- CP train from Rossio or Oriente to Sintra (~40 minutes), then bus 434.
- Accessibility
- Partial. Ramps, lifts, and an elevator reach parts of the access route; traction-manual wheelchairs are available at the ticket desk. Gift shop, café, and restrooms are wheelchair-accessible. The battlement walk itself — narrow stone steps with exposed edges — is NOT wheelchair-accessible.
- Photography
- Personal photography allowed throughout; tripods and drones require operator authorisation. Flash permitted outdoors on the open battlements.
- Footwear
- Sturdy, grippy closed shoes essential — battlement stones are polished and slippery when wet or windy.
- Children
- Welcome with close supervision on the battlement walk (narrow steps, low parapets in places, sheer drops outside the wall).
- Dress
- No formal code. Wind-resistant layer strongly recommended; the ridge is exposed year-round.
About our service
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 English-language support service. Our service fee is included in the displayed price. For those who prefer to purchase directly, the official ticket site is parquesdesintra.pt.
Frequently asked
What's included in the Moorish Castle ticket?
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.
How long do I need at the Moorish Castle?
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.
Can I combine it with Pena?
Yes — the combo Sintra Mountain Pass covers same-day entry to both ridge-top monuments at a lower total price than buying each separately. The two sites are on the same ridge, about 1.5–2 km apart (20–40 minutes on foot).
Is the battlement walk safe?
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.
Is it worth it?
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.