Cascais: relaxation and good life
When walking through the streets of Lisbon , it breathes the melancholy of an entire nation whose brave navigators conquered the world during the Age of Discovery. It is a city that reaches the soul of the traveler, as only cities that know how to tell a beautiful story can do.
A visit to Lisbon does not end in its Bairro Alto, the viewpoints, the Torre de Belém, the Castillo de São Jorge or the sad fados heard in the old taverns of the Alfama neighbourhood. A little over half an hour by car from the Portuguese capital, you will find three towns that you should not miss: Estoril, Cascais and Sintra.
Carcavelos Beach
The old coastal road the N6 , part to the west of Lisbon to show a landscape governed by small cliffs that separate wild beaches of golden sand. One of them is that of Carcavelos , where almost any day of the year surfers and kitesurfers practice the exciting art of riding and flying on the waves.
Continue the journey west along with cyclists who take advantage of the extensive coastal bike path to travel, in a healthy and ecological way, this beautiful part of Portugal.
ESTORIL: KINGS, SPIES AND CASINOS
And that's how you get to Estoril, with the sea breeze on your face.
The small town of Estoril emanates an essence of mystery and history that materializes in its most emblematic buildings, all of them inaugurated in the 30s of the last century.
Spies from both sides met in the luxurious rooms of the Hotel Palácio during World War II. They took advantage of the Portuguese neutrality in the conflict and it is believed that some even used tunnels that went directly from the hotel to some hidden point on the coast, where a smuggling boat took them away from there.
Dukes, magnates and kings also stayed there. Don Juan de Borbón was one of them, but also Umberto II of Italy and Carlos II of Romania established their residence at the Hotel Palácio for a time.
Oh, if this hotel could talk...
A short distance from the hotel is Garrett's Bakery, a meeting place for the upper class since its opening in 1934. His most famous creation is the bolo do rei – a relative of the Spanish roscón de reyes – and they say that it was also the favorite of Ian Fleming, who wrote some passages from his famous James Bond novels here.
Finally, you cannot leave Estoril without playing a hand of blackjack or betting on roulette. of the largest and most traditional casino in Europe. Since 1931, great fortunes have been lost and won at the Estoril Casino, always in the exclusive environment in which the European chic class moved.
CASCAIS: RELAXATION AND THE GOOD LIFE
The quiet Cascais seems to miss the frenetic fishing activity of yesteryear. Today is a vacation spot that teems with life in summer and seems to doze, rocked by the waves, the rest of the year.
Strolling through its historic center of cobbled pedestrian streets, the palaces and mansions attest to the tourist boom that attracted the Portuguese upper class in the 18th century, when Cascais was chosen by the royal family as a summer resort.
And it is in summer when, not far from the small urban beach of Los Pescadores, long queues of people wait their turn for ice cream from the Santini ice cream parlor transfer them to the 'Olympus of Flavors'. This small family business has been making the best ice cream in Portugal for decades.
Cliffs of Boca del Infierno
From the center of Cascais you can walk to the Hell's Mouth. In this set of sharp and irregular rocky outcrops, the sea hits with all its fury, creating an impressive visual and auditory spectacle.
A little further west Guincho beach It is the perfect place to enjoy a day in the sun, whether lying down or practicing surfing, windsurfing or kitesurfing. Is about a beautiful nature reserve made up of shifting dunes populated with green bushes.
SINTRA: A PLACE FROM A TALE
After leaving Guincho beach, you must head north to enter the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park. In it you will find the next stop on the route: Rock Cape.
The Cape of the Rock (Cabo da Roca, in Portuguese) is the westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula. A cliff covered in green emerges from the sea, which appears rough, 140 meters below of the lighthouse that encourages and guides the ships that cross this part of the Atlantic.
The natural landscape of the cape is as beautiful as the one you will find on both sides of the road that connects it with Sintra. Forests, soft mountains and fresh air to get closer to a dream place.
Pena National Palace, in Sintra
Sintra is one of those few places in the world that could serve, without changing anything at all, as a set for a fantasy movie. He is largely to blame for this the National Palace of Pena, that emerges between rocks and a dense grove at the highest point of Sintra.
The Palacio da Pena, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995, It is made up of a group of buildings with colorful facades in which a construction pattern cannot be guessed. Such is the anarchic mixture of styles used by the architects of the work. this monument, maximum expression of the Portuguese romantic style, It was the residence of the Portuguese royal family during the 19th century.
At a lower height and with a much more sober style, the ancient fortress of Castillo de los Moros (Castelo dos Mouros) recalls past battles between Moors and Christians. The first defensive structures were erected by the Arab conquerors between the 8th and 9th centuries, being enlarged and reinforced by the Christian forces after the reconquest of Don Afonso Henriques.
Already in the town, to the narrow streets they appear pastry shops, romantic restaurants and small hotels, thus escorting the National Palace of Sintra, from the 16th century.
It is normal that such beauty inspired the bravest sailors that history has known.
The ancient fortress of Castillo de los Moros