“The cultural landscape of the serra and the town of Sintra represents a pioneering approach to Romantic landscaping which had an outstanding influence on developments elsewhere in Europe.lt is an unique example of the cultural occupation of a specific location that has maintained its essential integrity as the representation of diverse successive cultures. lts structures harmonize indigenous flora with a refined and cultivated landscape created by man as a result of literary and artistic influences. Its integrity is fragile and vulnerable to neglect and unsympathetic management and use.” – ICOMOS, September 1995
– Excerpt from the ICOMOS report, September 1995, supporting Sintra’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
To the residents and admirers of Sintra:
We are members of the Sintra community who are concerned about risks to the Sintra Cultural Landscape and its Special Protection Area, listed as a World Heritage Site for creating a unique example of harmony between the natural landscape and human action.
The QSintra Association – Em Defesa de um Sítio Único was established in April 2021, after three years of being active as a local community movement, which proved that it was imperative to formally organize an association committed to pursuing the rights and obligations of members of the Sintra community, advocating for sustainable strategies and management of an area as diverse and distinct as the Sintra Cultural Landscape.
Our name carries a Q for our questioning about the future for Sintra, but also a Q for quality, the response we advocate for Sintra. Our goal is to promote civic, participatory and responsible intervention in the protection of Sintra, a cultural capital with natural and romanticist heritage, that also calls for protection as a place where people live.
We advocate for sustainable territorial management policies with measurable results that steer away from risks to the architectural, environmental and social integrity of the area, and amend the policies already carried out.
There were once regions in Portugal that were great cultural and environmental assets in the world, but today they are completely defaced, with irreversible economic, social and environmental losses. We must learn from the past and steer clear while there is still time, so that Sintra will not become just a nostalgic memory.
As members of the Sintra community, we have the right and the duty to intervene.
1. Community Revitalization and Residents’ Quality of Life Must Be the Top Priority
Leaving Sintra without residents and turning it into a crowded amusement park is a path to neither quality tourism nor preserving the environment, culture, landscape, and authenticity of this unique site.
Thus, we advocate:
– A territorial management model that values the living, inhabited heritage as a whole, rather than the current segmented approach focused solely on monument conservation.
– An environmental policy that ensures air, water, and soil quality, promotes biodiversity, and protects forests, urban green spaces, and the coastline.
– A housing policy encouraging long-term rentals, prohibiting the exclusive use of buildings for tourist accommodation, and restricting short-term rentals (AL) to portions of estates or houses permanently inhabited.
– A mobility policy based on an integrated vision of the needs of residents and visitors, environmental and heritage protection, and safety for people and property. Flexible traffic management measures must be adopted to prevent frequent congestion and improve mobility for residents and visitors alike.
– A heritage policy that recognises Sintra as a jewel of Portugual, and prioritises easy and affordable access to all Portuguese citizens for Sintra monuments.
It is necessary to discourage private vehicle use and promote sustainable mobility. Visitor vehicle entry must be discouraged by providing peripheral parking in less sensitive areas, with connections to tourist attractions via environmentally friendly public transport tailored to the road layout and urban structure. Illegal parking, oversized buses, and polluting vehicles must be consistently policed, and the number of tuk-tuks, vans, jeeps, and tour buses must be strictly limited.
Priority should be given to light mobility solutions, with the urban area designed accordingly, ensuring adequate sidewalks for pedestrians. Non-polluting, collective transport options adapted to the local road network must also be provided.
2. Careful Urban Planning and Management
New hotel, real estate, and commercial development projects should be scrutinized, especially when they exacerbate existing mobility and urban management issues, degrade residents’ quality of life, and compromise sustainable tourism. A systematic assessment of all major planned projects must be conducted, evaluating their impact on the landscape, ecosystem, mobility, and local life.
The degradation and defacing of building facades, use of poor-quality materials, and other discordant elements negatively impact the area’s visual appeal and cultural identity. Efforts must focus on avoiding so-called “rehabilitations” that distort buildings and sites. The restoration of abandoned estates and buildings should prioritize architectural harmony, original features, and adaptive reuse for residential, social, or cultural purposes.
Urban management systems need significant improvement. Waste collection is flawed in several areas; roads are poorly maintained; electrical wires and cables clutter facades; commercial sign boards and billboards are visually intrusive; herbicides continue to harm public gardens and streets; and public spaces are overcrowded with excessive outdoor seating.
3. Quality Over Quantity in Tourism
Sintra and its residents must coexist harmoniously with tourism—a kind of tourism that enhances, rather than disrupts, daily life. Mechanisms are needed to discourage mass tourism, short-lived tourist visits, and flows that overwhelm monuments, access routes, and public spaces.
Instead of excessive tourist loads, Sintra should be promoted as a distinct destination, attracting tourist market segments that respect nature, heritage, and culture, and ordinary citizens and residents of Portugal who see Sintra as a place to enjoy a nice time away.
Tourism is vital to Sintra but must not become a factor in degrading the landscape or driving out local residents. For tourism to contribute to sustainable development, it must adhere to strict rules and undergo controlled oversight to avoid self-destruction and the loss of the unique identity it seeks to exploit.
Sintra’s fragile ecosystem cannot withstand unlimited, unregulated tourist pressure. Sustainable management is essential to preserve this exceptional place.
4. Combating the “Monoculture” of Tourism
We advocate for a strategy and actionable measures to decrease the excessive reliance on tourism by promoting other activities suited to Sintra’s unique characteristics. These initiatives aim to create a more diverse and innovative economic and social model that benefits residents, workers, and visitors alike.
Traditional social, economic, and cultural activities in Sintra, part of its cultural heritage, should be revitalized. At the same time, new activities that protect heritage and improve residents’ quality of life should be encouraged.
Sintra’s distinctive qualities demand a vision and action worthy of its universal value. It has the potential to become a globally recognized cultural hub in areas like music, literature, cinema, fine arts, craftsmanship, and gastronomy. We support strengthening the cultural offering, fostering schools and workshops for arts and crafts, and revitalizing existing infrastructure such as the Olga Cadaval Cultural Center and MUSA, which currently lack consistent, appealing programming. Establishing research centers dedicated to heritage in its various forms is another activity aligned with Sintra’s identity that could be encouraged.
As for commercial offerings, what we would like to see is a variety of shops offering authentic regional crafts and local products, not only for tourists, in the assumption that there will be an increased number of residents to sustain diverse neighbourhood stores .
5. Restoring and Preserving Natural Areas
Stricter rules and enforcement are necessary to protect Sintra’s landscape, forests, and coastline.
Financial and technical support must be provided to private forest owners, who control the largest forested areas, in coordination with public land management. This support should facilitate investments in cleaning, diversifying, and replanting suitable species, including native ones. Beyond the Serra de Sintra, critical green areas such as the Nazaré Pine Forest in Colares (part of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park) need effective protection plans.
Large-scale real estate, commercial, and tourism projects in coastal areas and throughout Sintra’s Cultural Landscape and Special Protection Zone must be restrained to preserve the harmony of the landscape, biodiversity, and the unique character of residential communities.
Existing leisure areas should be maintained, and new green spaces for non-invasive leisure and sports activities should be created. These developments should include carefully defined commercial support structures and parking and circulation solutions suitable for seasonal and year-round use.
6. A Specialized and Collaborative Management Structure for Sintra’s Cultural Landscape
We propose the creation of a specialized public administration structure to manage the Cultural Landscape of Sintra and its Special Protection Zone.
This structure must define and implement a strategy following best practices, integrating heritage, environment, demographics, economy, and culture to ensure a sustainable future for Sintra.
The various entities responsible for managing the area—such as the Municipal Council, the Regional Coordination and Development Commission of Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Parques de Sintra Monte da Lua, ICNF, DGPC, and Turismo de Portugal—should jointly establish this management body with planning, management, and oversight functions.
The management structure should include a multidisciplinary team with expertise in planning, control, and monitoring across all relevant fields. It should rely on ongoing monitoring of cultural heritage, expert opinions, and a regulatory framework designed to meet the specific demands and vulnerabilities of Sintra.
Effective dialogue with residents must be the cornerstone of this structure, incorporating active community participation in decision-making. This could begin with public debates on management programs and significant projects.
A Call to Action
These are the ideas we advocate and wish to discuss publicly.
QSintra is an independent organization, free from local, regional, or national authorities, political parties, public entities, or professional, business, or religious organizations. However, independence does not mean disengagement. On the contrary, we consider it our duty and right to maintain dialogue with all relevant stakeholders.
We hope for openness from the responsible entities, and we aim to be an active, collaborative voice in defending this heritage, which belongs to everyone.
Join QSintra! This unique place needs you!
QSintra 