Due to massive crowds, said every source I checked, avoid the city of Sintra, Portugal, on the weekends. Avoid the city on Mondays, they advised, when, again, it’s swamped with tourists, now because the museums in nearby Lisbon are closed. So, I went on a Thursday. Result? It didn’t matter. The National Palace of Pena—former summer home of Portuguese royalty, starting with King Ferdinand II—was jam-packed with people. But who can blame them? It’s the number-one tourist sight in Portugal, and deservedly so. Read about it >