000ha of Portugal. Several people had died. Sintra was not directly under threat, but the dry conditions meant any spark could ignite the Unesco-listed town. The fate of my castle-hopping getaway ...

A veritable heaven on earth, the small ... the Sintra National Palace, whose azulejo-adorned interiors are more elaborate than its gleaming white exterior, the Monserrate Palace, the Castle ...

The castle served as a fortification for the Romans, Visigoths and the Moors, who turned it into a royal palace before it was eventually taken by Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques.