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Night Walk
The First Benefit
This is a private tour; meaning that only you and the people that you bring with you will compose the group along Miguel Boim.
and the Highlights
surprising informations on places that people pass by today and can't imagine what there were lived
management and transmission of the information in the context of Sintra's past, by who studies the original documents
the most mundane and trivial habits and customs we still have today like hygiene, the sparkle of passion, etc.
availability to reply to all questions related with Sintra's History and Heritage during the tour / night walk
Synopsys / Teaser
From a small village, from a small world that placed in the shadows of the earth and in the nights of the mountain which was proficuous in the growth of innumerable stories of fantasy, what can one know, what one can revive in its mind, of the reality in the lived past?
The habits, the ways, the secrets and intrigues, the emotions and the experiences, all in the words that you will hear in a nocturnal walk that will run some centuries behind and that will make, through you, the living past to be felt.
Sintra, the old entrance to the National Palace,
having a wall and edifications all around what is today
a public space
Elucidation of the Walk
if you go Regaleira on foot, you will surely pass
in this same place, nowadays looking just an ordinary street with nothing to see;
but in this old picture there are a thousand details no longer watchable
and which talk to us about old traditions, odd stories and, of course
the intimacy of the society of that time
Will we know how some places in Sintra have emerged? And how the living in them was different from now?
Other themes have moments in which people get to know details that are no longer visible, especially from monuments and old streets. In "The Intimacy in Sintra's Past" you will receive the information of many layers that got stuck in the past; in one crossroad, for example, you will not "see" only one date, but you will be given three or four layers that can complement themselves in the overlaping of a year.
How Sintra gained its fame in the 19th century and started to be visited from people from all Europe?
To get inside the past's intimacy you will need not to know what people here in Sintra were telling about the others lives, but you will be able to know accounts of what has happened in closed spheres for example in the 19th century, when Sintra started to gain its name abroad, and the first waves of tourism - as we know it today - started to develop.
Are we going to receive only touristic information?
You will not make this tour with an expert in tourism; you will make this tour with Miguel Boim, which can give you details that can be only found in newspapers from the past, in secular books, and in diaries and journals. So you will be put at your will to expose any question you may have regarding Sintra's history and heritage.
Are we going to visit the interior of some monuments?
In this theme you will not visit the interior of any monument, although you'll see some of significance from the exterior and in the distance, as the Royal Palace of Sintra, Quinta da Regaleira, Pena Palace, and some other less known to foreigners.
On the Day of the Walk
What will happen?
This tour specialized in the hidden intimacy of Sintra's past, will have a format of a walk. The route will have around six kilometres, with some rough terrain in some parts, which will not constitute any trouble for whoever doesn't have mobility limitations. Including the stopping places in which Miguel Boim will furnish you with all the small details that permit you to travel to the past, this activity will have the duration of around four hours. The physical effort will be similar to the one one who strolls around Sintra for a whole afternoon makes.
Like the tour passes through the historical center (although it reaches the mountain), it is extremely advisable that this theme will be made at night. Even so, when in the historical center you will not be totally isolated, although you are not going to be in a crows either. Miguel Boim tries to organize all the tours having the care to avoid other events or elements of disturbance in the spirit of activity, so this one it is no exception.
The meeting point will be in the Village and the advice on the clothes will be given near the date, since the weather here in the mountain can drastically change in a matter of a day.
If the weather is foggy it can prevent you from being able to see some monuments in the distance.
at dusk, one of the places you will pass by and beyond it guards things that are
related with the 16th century in the old palace (National Palace),
it guards odd stories from people which were guardaded inside the walls that are at your left
Some Images of What You May Encounter
Two quarter moons from the 16th century.
They are still present in the village, even if with almost 500 years.
Actual picture taken a few meters from the night walk (The Intimacy in Sintra's Past) route.
Photographer credits: Miguel Boim.
An elephant with his mahout.
But this sketch was made after a Raphael creation. But it have not come from his imagination. It has come from Lisbon,
when Sintra had its big movement in the Royal Palace.
Two european women from the 16th century.
If you feel the dressings are awkward, the footwear even more. But there was a reason why women
in those days were using those shoes.
Full in its glory, when Romanticism was about to enter in scene.
This is part of several different constructions in time, in one only property full of history.
Actual picture taken - during the day - from the night walk (The Intimacy in Sintra's Past) route.
Photographer credits: Miguel Boim.
An engraving of a construction influenced by the presence of an englishman in Portugal, and in Sintra.
That englishman have fournished us with a lot of details from how life was lived in Portugal,
and particularly in the thrill of Sintra in the Summer.
A part of Monserrate Palace.
It represents not only a very specific lifestyle in Sintra by the end of the 19th century, but also the lively intimacy
that was lived specially in the garden parties (and after those).
In some nights the palace can be seen in the distance, from the night walk (The Intimacy in Sintra's Past) route
Photographer credits: Miguel Boim.
Someone that was truly important for women rights.
And someone who had connections with the United States, with Karl Marx, and with the referred garden parties in Sintra.
A beach from Sintra's coast.
In the 19th century countless places that were only taken as wild nature started to be frequented by people with status,
bringing to Sintra a new life, and taking from Sintra the most intimate memories.
Digital work from an old picture: Miguel Boim.
A picture from a portuguese duel.
Duels were, in Portugal, forbidden by law centuries ago. But still they were happening here and there.
Many of them as a result from incorrect intimate relations. And that has also happened in Sintra, with important figures.
The first years of the actual Sintra train station.
With the arrival of the railway to Sintra, the village had a more frequent visit of personalities.
One of our kings used the train and was also caught in Sintra in an incorrect behaviour towards his love commitment.
The visit of the german Emperor Whilhelm II to the Royal Palace of Sintra.
Times were now different, but around the Royal Palace there were still many lodges where the intimacy
was different from our days.
Digital work from old picture: Miguel Boim.
The Royal Palace of Sintra, with its old configuration.
Around it, the intimacy that Miguel Boim will tell you about was not only lived in the lodges or in the people's houses.
Digital work from old picture: Miguel Boim.
The main entrance of the old configuration of the Royal Palace of Sintra
Digital work from old picture: Miguel Boim.
Prices / Booking
your cicerone:
the author and researcher
Miguel Boim
lectures and speeches on Sintra's history to more than 12K people - as to 2018 data
in this video of the portuguese channel dedicated to culture, Miguel Boim
gives body to Süskind's walker, Mr. Sommer
The Intimacy in Sintra's Past
night walk
1 person: 150€ (total)*
for one person, dinner with Miguel Boim in a more traditional (and less tourist) place is included
in the price
2 persons: 200 (total)*
3 persons: 250 (total)*
4 persons: 300€ (total)*
5 persons: 320€ (total)*
6 to 10 persons: 55€ per person*
* all values are taxes declared
This thematic walk need to be confirmed (paid, with the confirmation of the transaction) until 3 days before the date in which it will be made. In order to have your walk guaranteed it is advisable to book in the most advance you can, due to Miguel Boim schedule.
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the presentation of the book Sintra Lendária, in the Grémio Literário, by Basílio Horta, Mayor of Sintra Municipality
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Miguel Boim being received by the students of a school in the Municipality of Sintra
second edition of Miguel Boim and Sintra's iconic book Sinta Lendária, with a deep and heartful insight on the side of History which resembles the same enchantment of legends and tales
On Trust and Safety
Code of Conduct
No smoking or making noise.
It is forbidden to take species of fauna, flora, or geological ones.
Please stay close to the person who is guiding the group, avoiding to be absent without previous communication, in any circumstance.
Safety
The personal data is necessary for insurance purposes as well as to fully accomplish with the legislation of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park.
It is necessary to provide data from third parties (close relatives or others, from the country of origin of the participants).
Minimum age: from 12/14 years of age, according to what specified in each theme.
By booking this activity you assume that your health conditions are perfect for walking (having in mind the ups and downs of the route) between 200 and 470 meters above sea level for around 4 hours.
It is necessary to specify medication a participant is taking and which can be relevant for his health condition when not taken.
This activity fully accomplishes with the required by law and fulfills the payment of the taxes implied by law.
It is necessary that the participants proceed accordingly to what stated by the guide in the briefing as well as during the activity, as well as to what may be requested by any element of portuguese authority, of those which patrol the mountains at night: the National Guard Republican (G.N.R.), security of Parques de Sintra Monte da Lua (in SUV or on foot), Portuguese Army (in SUV or on foot), Civil Protection (in SUV or on foot), ICNF - Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e Florestas (in SUV or on foot). It is important to keep these elements in mind to know to who should you provide your idenfication if needed.
You may ask for advice on safety in general as well as related to rented vehicles (special attention in this regard) and possible pickpockets (during the day and in crowded places).
For Your Comfort
Do not hesitate to ask questions before the tour and as well as during the tour; it is very important that you can notice the pretended transparency.
Proper footwear and clothing (you'll be advised on the best of both, according to the time of year and near the date weather conditions).
Start time can be exact as well as end time; but please notice that the end time can be inaccurate - if not otherwise strictly required.
The option for dinner in one person tour is to be taken in a non-tourist restaurant, with a liter drink, main plate, dessert, and coffee.
Groups with two people up have no meal included.
You can inquire where the best place to have your meals.
Information on how to avoid tourist crowds during the day in Sintra can be requested.
If desired, pick up and deliver in Lisbon can be required beforehand, having the extra cost of 200€ - not included in the given price - for every 4 people.
Cancellations and Refunds
Cancellations with partial refund of the money (70% of the total amount) are possible if made until 72 hours before the begining of the activity.
The partial refund of the money can take up to 7 days after the date of the activity.
In case of rain the activity will be maintained; in case of warning (Aviso) or alert (Alerta) by the authorities (Civil Protection, ICNF) the activity will be canceled with the consequent refund of the amount paid (100%).
The Village and the Mountains in the begining of
one foggy night, by Miguel Boim
legal notice: rnaat 1808/2017