Viagens: Sintra

Sintra: Quinta da Regaleira, Palácio Monserrate e Castelo dos Mouros

Olá! 

De forma a deixar mais organizado o relato do meu passeio por Portugal, eu separei em 3 posts. Este, que fala sobre o meu passeio de 1 dia a Sintra, um post sobre meus 3 dias em Lisboa (para ver clique aqui) e um post sobre o meu passeio de 1 dia a Fátima, Grutas de Mira de Aire e Castelo de Leiria. 

1) Como chegar a Sintra: 

Para ir para Sintra você deve pegar um trem que liga Lisboa a Sintra. Pode-se pegar o trem da estação Rossio ou da estação Oriente (localizada no parque nas nações). 

O trem para Sintra esta incluído no cartão do Lisboa Card. 

2) Transporte em Sintra:

 Existem 2 ônibus para acessar os castelos com linhas diferentes. Sugiro planejar o passeio pois um dia não é suficiente se não houver planejamento. 

Linha 435 ( 2,50 euros) - Leva para Quinta da Regaleira e Palácio Monserrate. Começamos o dia por ela e foi a melhor escolha porque o ônibus foi vazio e pegamos as atrações com poucas pessoas, já que o roteiro comum começa pela outra Rota (Castelo da Pena).

Linha 434 - Leva ao Castelo dos Mouros e Palácia da Pena.

Ambos ônibus você paga o ticket diário e pode subir e descer em cada castelo no sentido da ida, mas vale apenas para uma volta.

Sugiro FORTEMENTE que realizem pesquisa sobre os horários dos ônibus para organizar o tempo em cada palácio.

3) Roteiro: 

Nós chegamos as 09:50 em Sintra e retornamos desses dois passeios as 14h. 

As 14:30 (se não me engano) nós pegamos o ônibus pro Castelo dos Mouros e vimos de lá o por do sol. Nós tinhamos o sonho de ao menos ver o Castelo da Pena de perto mas não rolou porque o ônibus pulou 2 horários e tivemos que esperar até passar o último ônibus da vez (sim, ficamos 1h e 30 minutos sentados na calçada esperando o ônibus). 

Mas é aquilo, mesmo nos planejando muito temos que contar com o mal funcionamento de outras coisas. 

O passeio valeu muito a pena!!! 

A Quinta da Regaleira é um mundo próprio. Combina castelo, com passagens secretas, natureza e um monte de simbologia. 

Nós fizemos uma visita guiada que eu recomendo muito! Não acho que teria a mesma graça conhecer o lugar se não fosse sabendo o significado de cada coisa e a história da construção. 

Duração: ficamos 2h e 30 minutos, mas poderiamos facilmente ter ficado mais. 

O Palácio Monserrate é bem diferente pela sua construção que se inspira na arquitetura meio arabe e tudo mais. 

    Além disso, tem um parque enorme. Foi uma caminhada muito agradável até chegarmos no palácio. 

     Existe uma ruina no meio da floresta e uma cachoeira. Super recomendo o passeio e um piquinique no gramadão de frente pro palácio. 

Duração: ficamos aproximadamente 2 horas nesse castelo e foi MUITO corrido. Recomendo 2h e meia a 3 horas para conhecer bem o parque e o castelo.  

Por fim, o tão esperado Castelo dos Mouros é impressionante. Ficar lá em cima imaginando como há 1 milênio (tá to exagerando) atras quase o pessoal conseguiu construir uma muralha impressionante dessas no topo de um morro é realmente difícil.

 Duração: 3 horas. 

4) Bilhetes e mais informações: 

Os ingressos para cada palácio custam em torno de 8 euros e são mais caros se comprados individualmente. Exitem "combos" que diminuem o custo para ir a vários castelos.

Para mais informações: http://www.parquesdesintra.pt/

Acho que pretender ver mais do que 3 palácios por dia é muito complicado. É possível mas acho que o ideal seriam 2 dias de passeios em Sintra para ver tudo. Na verdade, eu RECOMENDO 2 dias de passeio porque acho que a cidade oferece muito e não merece uma visita tão corrida. 

Até! 

Travels: acessibility in Lisbon and Rome

Hello!

Today I’m going to help those travelers that have reduced mobility and intend to know the citys of Lisbon, in Portugal, and Rome, Italy.

In October, 2016, I traveled wiht my grandfather that celebrate his 80 years old birthday abd it was a real trouble to find informations about acessibility since there is any place that has all you need in only one place.

So I want to put here every kind of information that I find in my research.

(IMPORTANT) My grandfather can walk but its difficult to him, because of his age and artroses in his knee. So, sometimes we need him to walk or just get up so we could carry his mobility scooter – resume: its necessary to travel with someone to help you.

My tips can help but its important to check everything before your trip  because in some places we discover that the acessibility was not avaiable in THAT DAY.

1) Acessibility in Airports:

When you buy a plane tickets or until 72 hours before the flight you can inform the Plane Enterprise that you are a passanger that need assistance. The enterprise will inform the airport wich kind of assistance you need and will make it available.

The service has no cost at all and the only thing you must do in the day of your flight is: when you arrive in the airport, go to the helpdesk and inform your  code tracking and flying company then they will provide the assistance in that airport and inform the destiny airport.

We asked for my grandfather a wheelchair and a person to help. That persons always helps a lot not only with the transport but to make people go do the right and simples way. People in wheelchair has a lot of preferences, so the transferences is faster with them.

In Lisbon airport they transport my grandfather in a golf car through the airport.

WebSite Lisbon Airport:  http://www.aeroportolisboa.pt/pt/lis/servicos-e-compras/servicos-premium/experiencias-unicas

WebSite Fiumicino airport(Rome): http://www.adr.it/pt/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en-/pax-fco-reduced-mobility

2)About mobility scooter:

You probably have already seen this chair in tv or movies, and normally people use it in supermakets.

But its not really easy to find a place that has a rent service in Europe.

I find some places in Lisbon and choose a mini scooter of “Mais que cuidar” wich you can make them delivery it or catch by yourself in the store (and save 50 euros!).  

The rent cost 9 euros per day and you can have a reserve by e-mail.

I really recommend this service

WebSite: http://www.maisquecuidar.com/AluguerScooterMini.htm

In Rome it was really hard to find that kind of service and, when i found, it was really expensive. Anyway, we choose to hire in "Acessible Italy.com" and i’m glad of the choice since everything Works perfectly with it.

This store doesn’t give the option to take it in the store, so you have to pay 55 euros of delivery taxes.

The rent cost 34,80 euros per day (and 198,70 euros per week) and you can reserve by e-mail.

WebSite: http://www.accessibleitaly.com/accessibility-in-italy.html

3) Using public transport:

We just use public transport, that means: subway and bus.

In Lisbon there is a wonderful public transport since most of them are accessible. The is a subway line that connect airport to São Sebastião station that all the stations between are 100% accessible.

ATTENTION Stay in the station in a placa that the subway “pilot” can see you, so he will look to see you getting in and off.  

In places that transport in not accessible, we used a hop on hop off bus

- http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/portugal/lisbon.htm,that cost 19 euros for 24 hours ticket that are accessible to wheelchair and mobility scooter.

In Rome, i really dont recomend public transport. A lot of stations are not accessible and we faced a lot of problems in the ones that have accessibility.

Besides, the streets doesn’t have access ramp for wheelchair users, so  they need help to get down the sidewalk.

                                                                            

To speak the truth, our travel just worked because of my boyfriends help to carry the mobility scooter  lots of times AND because my grandfather can walk.

I recomend to get a hotel near Termini, take the tourist bus and rent the mobility scooter to enjoy the atraction of the city since its easier and more confortable.  I recommend WebSite: http://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/rome-bus-tours but there are other companies.

3) Points of interest in Lisbon, Fátima and Sintra (Portugal) to Wheelchair users:

I have to make a compliment to Lisbon since its a beautiful and accessible city. All the sidewalks has access ramp and the transport facilities make the life of tourist easier.  

However, the neighborhood called Belém, tha place of some atractions as para "Padrão do Descobrimento", "Mosteiro dos Jerônimos" e "Torre de Belém"  you need to take a cab or a touristic bus (that i recomend).

Other place that you need a cab to go is Castelo de São Jorge (São Jorge Castle). 

We went with my grandfather to that places: Oceanário de Lisboa, Elevador de Santa Justa e Mosteiro dos Jerônimos (is not fully accessible). Padrão do Descobrimento was under renovation. 

Another places that a wheelchair user can go is: Castelo de São Jorge (but its hard to get there and is not fully accessible) and Ruínas do Carmo. 

To visit Fatima I recommend you to rente a car and rent mobility scooter, since the sanctuary is really big. To go to Sintra, is better go by train but i dont think is the best tour to do since most of it is seeing castles and palaces, wich are not fully accessible (even when their website say they are, as Pena Castle and Mouros castle) and i really dont remember if the public transpor is accessible.

In that day my gransfather went by foot and did the sightseeing bus tour, only. He was not interested in seeing castles and all.  

4) Points of interest  in Rome (Italy): 

Repeting: Rome is  not a city that is easy to tour if you are in a wheelchair, even id you are mobility scooter.

However, I think it works if you are in a hosted in a well located place (near Termini, as I suggest before) and doing tour in a sightseeing bus, that ldrop you off near the principal touristic points.

In the touristic places, the treatment was really good. In the moment that we arrive at Coliseu, some of his workers appear and take my mom and grandfather to other line to get tickets. The same happened in other atractions: S’Angelo Castle, Vaticano Museum and San Peter Basilics. In all that places there are lifts and access ramps.  

Other places that i know there is a lift is Museum Venezzia/Elevator of Vitor Emaluelle e Museo Capitolini, the last one is hard to get since there is a really big and dangerous ramp, so I recommend to take a cab to go there and ask the driver to leave you up there.   

Place that I dont reccomend: Foro romano and Palatino because they are not accessible, ora t least i dont think is safe to go there  because the floors is all made of tiles and uneven.  

5) Accommodation: 

I recomend to stay in Lisbon around Rossio subway station because that is the only one downtown that is accessible. Besides, you can go to the airport using subway needing only one change of trains.

In Rome, I recommend to stay near Termini, since its the train central station and has a subway station that accessibility Works. Also, most of the touristic buses get off near termini.

Thats it folks, any doubts please comment that if i know i’ll try to help.

See ya!