Moorish Castle, best tours and attractions

The Moorish Castle is a military fortification located in the municipality of Sintra. It was classified World Heritage by UNESCO in 1995.

The castle was established during the 9th-century by the North African Moors. Its mountaintop location looking over the Tagus River made it an ideal strategic place to defend the town of Sintra, but it fell into disrepair after the Christian conquest of Portugal.

It was acquired and restored as a medieval ruin, also in keeping with the romantic taste of the period, by Ferdinand II.

The castle has an irregular plan and is composed of a double belt of walls. The internal wall presents a bailey, battlements and the reinforcement provided by five fortified towers. Inside, the Royal Tower is one of the most interesting features.

From the top of the castle, it’s possible to admire a unique landscape that reveals the town de Sintra in the foreground.