We are Patricia and Ricardo, a Spanish and Portuguese couple, and Quinta do Pé Descalço is our home. We have lived here since 2018, in one of the two houses on the property. There is no reception desk. When you arrive, we both come out to meet you. Ricardo is a professional photographer, and takes care of the house and the garden. Patricia teaches Yin Yoga and Kundalini Yoga, with regular classes and private sessions on request, in our studio here at the Quinta. Massage can be arranged by appointment with the therapist we work with. We can also arrange surfing at Praia Grande, and climbing or mountain biking in the Serra de Sintra. We make breakfast ourselves every morning: bread from the village bakery, local cheeses, fruit, and juice from our own orange trees when they are in season. We speak Portuguese, Spanish, English and French. We know this corner of Sintra well and we like talking about it. We are around when you need us, and out of the way when you do not.

Quinta do Pé Descalço is a six-room guesthouse in Várzea de Sintra, inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park and a few minutes by car from the historic centre of Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. A main house and an annex, set in a quiet garden with old orange trees and an outdoor seasonal pool, open when the weather allows. There is a sun terrace and a barbecue area. In the main house: Regaleira, a large en-suite room looking onto the garden, with a bathtub and a rain shower. Pena and Mouros, two rooms behind their own private door off the entrance hall, sharing a large bathroom reserved for the two of them, which works well for a family or a group of friends. Each can be made up as a double or as twin beds. Capuchos, a room for two with solid wood bunk beds and its own shower room, and a good choice for anyone travelling on their own. In the annex: Ribafria, a bright room with a double bed or twins, double curtains for privacy or full blackout, and a large bathroom. Monserrate, a ground-floor apartment with a separate bedroom, a sofa bed, a dining area and a kitchenette. Guests share a living room with an open fireplace opening onto the garden, and a dining room that opens onto the garden and the pool. There is an honesty bar with Portuguese wines and local craft beers. Breakfast is included with most rooms. The Monserrate apartment has a kitchenette, and breakfast there is optional at an extra charge. There is no air conditioning and no television in the rooms. Both are deliberate, for ecological reasons, and because people sleep better without them. Every room has a fan and mosquito screens. Central heating in the main house, electric heating in the annex. Parking is free, inside the property. The whole place can also be booked by a single group of up to thirteen adults.

Várzea de Sintra is a quiet green valley inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. The historic centre of Sintra and its palaces are a few minutes away by car: Pena, Quinta da Regaleira, the Moorish Castle, Monserrate, and the National Palace in the town itself. All of them are managed by Parques de Sintra and open all year. The Atlantic is close. Praia Grande, Praia da Adraga and Praia da Ursa are among the most beautiful beaches in Portugal, and Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point of continental Europe. Colares, the smallest wine region in the country, is on the way to the coast. There are restaurants serving traditional Portuguese food within walking distance of the house. We recommend renting a car. It is what opens up the coast, the villages and the Serra, and parking here is free. That said, Uber works very well in this area, it is quick and inexpensive, and Portela de Sintra station has a direct train to central Lisbon in about thirty-five minutes. Lisbon airport is roughly thirty minutes away by car. Sintra is at its quietest between November and March. The forest is green, the palaces are nearly empty, and the mist that settles in the valley is what brought the romantics here in the first place.