Moon Hill Hostel

Top choice in Sintra


This design-forward, minimalist newcomer easily outshines the competition. Book a bed in a four-bed mixed dorm (with lockers), or a boutique-hotel-level private room, with colourful reclaimed-wood headboards and wall-covering photos of enchanting Sintra forest scenes (go for 10 or 14 for Palácio Nacional da Pena views; 12 or 13 for Moorish castle views). Either way, you're sleeping in high style.

There's a modern shared kitchen, bar, courtyard, Portuguese-fusion restaurant (mains €11 to €15.50) and, as if that all wasn't enough, it's perfectly situated in the middle of Sintra-Vila. Best in show!


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sintra attractions

1. Palácio Nacional de Sintra

0.13 MILES

The star of Sintra-Vila is this palace, with its iconic twin conical chimneys and lavish, whimsical interior, which is a mix of Moorish and Manueline…

2. Museu Anjos Teixeira

0.15 MILES

Set in a former watermill, this small museum displays works by the father-and-son duo of Anjos Teixeira – two of Portugal’s greatest sculptors. Most of…

3. Castelo dos Mouros

0.44 MILES

Soaring 412m above sea level, this mist-enshrouded ruined castle looms high above the surrounding forest. When the clouds peel away, the vistas over…

4. Museu das Artes de Sintra

0.49 MILES

This museum features a small and manageable collection of contemporary and modern art, around 80% of which is dedicated to local works. The permanent…

5. Quinta da Regaleira

0.5 MILES

This magical villa and gardens is a neo-Manueline extravaganza, dreamed up by Italian opera-set designer, Luigi Manini, under the orders of Brazilian…

6. Parque da Pena

0.76 MILES

Nearly topped by King Ferdinand II's whimsical Palácio Nacional da Pena (only Cruz Alta, at 529m, is higher), these romantic gardens are filled with…

7. Palácio Nacional da Pena

0.76 MILES

Rising from a thickly wooded peak and often enshrouded in swirling mist, Palácio Nacional da Pena is a wacky confection of onion domes, Moorish keyhole…

8. Palácio & Parque de Monserrate

1.92 MILES

At the centre of a lush, 30-hectare park, a manicured lawn sweeps up to this whimsical, Moorish-Gothic-Indian palácio, the 19th-century romantic folly of…